BANGKOK, Feb 18 ― Thailand’s Deputy Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has agreed to look into AirAsia Aviation Group Limited’s request for the reduction of airport parking and landing fees.
Anutin said Capital A Bhd CEO Tan Sri Tony Fernandes had proposed the reduction at a meeting at Government House today to help ease the financial burden faced by the airline badly hit by the Covid-19 pandemic.
AirAsia Aviation Group Limited is the aviation arm of Capital A Bhd, formerly known as AirAsia Group.
Anutin said he would discuss the proposal with Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob and Airports of Thailand (AOT) before presenting it to the Cabinet.
“If the proposal gets approved, the fees will be reduced for all airlines,” he said.
Besides that, Fernandes had also urged the Thai government to scrap the mandatory second Covid-19 RT-PCR test for visitors under the quarantine-free “Test & Go” scheme to boost tourist arrivals to the kingdom.
Anutin said he has tasked the Department of Disease Control (DDC) to look into the proposal and seek alternative screening measures.
At present, under the “Test & Go” programme, travellers have to apply for a Thailand Pass before entering the kingdom where they need to purchase a medical insurance with minimum coverage of US$50,000 (RM209,375) and RT-PCR Covid-19 test result 72 hours before travelling.
Besides that, travellers have to pre-book SHA Extra certified hotel and RT-PCR Covid-19 tests for Day 1 and Day 5. ― Bernama
