Thai AirAsia Adds Phuket Capacity and Direct Links to Isaan for High Season

Thai AirAsia is scaling up its Phuket schedule for the fourth quarter, as domestic travel demand builds toward the high season. From October 1, the airline runs up to 15 daily flights between Don Mueang and Phuket, and resumes service between Suvarnabhumi and Phuket with up to five flights a day — its first return to Suvarnabhumi after routing domestic flights through Don Mueang. Across its whole domestic network the airline plans up to 135 flights a day in the October-December period, more than 50% above its third-quarter peak of around 88.

The more notable change for Phuket travellers lands on October 25, when Thai AirAsia launches the island’s first direct flights to Thailand’s northeast: up to three flights a week to Khon Kaen and four a week to Udon Thani, letting passengers skip a Bangkok connection entirely. The airline frames the buildup as a bet on a rebound in domestic tourism running through the fourth quarter and into early 2027, alongside a wider expansion of routes out of both Bangkok airports to cities including Chiang Mai, Hat Yai, Krabi, Chiang Rai and Ubon Ratchathani.

For anyone planning travel between Phuket and Thailand’s northeast, or relying on the Suvarnabhumi-Phuket link, this is a schedule worth checking against, since it is new capacity rather than a restored old one and frequencies are still fairly light.