9 Air Airlines from China starts flights to Phuket

174 mostly Chinese passengers have arrived at the Phuket International Airport on the inaugural flight of Chinese airline 9 Air Airlines. The flight arrived at Phuket International Airport on Tuesday this week. 9 Air is the first and only low-cost airline in Central and Southern China. They fly domestically around southern China, as well as Myanmar and now Phuket.

The airline has 23 Boeing 737 aircraft, including one of the new 737 Max models.

9 Air Co., Ltd., operating as 9 Air, is a Chinese low-cost airline headquartered in Baiyun District, Guangzhou, China. 9 Air was created as a subsidiary of Juneyao Airlines in 2014.

Flights from both Russia and China have ramped up considerably over the past few months. In the case of Chinese arrivals, just over 150,000 Chinese passengers arrived in Phuket between January 1 and February 15. The Tourism Authority of Thailand expects up to 5 million Chinese visitors this year, which would be a remarkable recovery of visitations since China reopened its borders for visitors at the start of this year.