Page 2 - Bangkok

Air India to operate non-stop Kolkata-Bangkok flights from Oct 23

Air India is all set to introduce a non-stop service between Kolkata and Bangkok from October 23. Launched during the festive season in Kolkata, this new flight will cater to the need for a convenient direct connection between the two cities, the airline said in a statement on Wednesday. It will operate six days a week from Monday to Friday. Flight number AI-322 will depart Kolkata at 10 pm (local time) to reach Bangkok at 2.05 am (local time) the next day. The return flight AI321 will take off from Bangkok at 3.05 am to land in Kolkata at 4.10 am. The flight will be operated with a narrow-body Airbus aircraft and it will have a two-class configuration business and economy. The direct service to Bangkok will offer an opportunity for Air India passengers to take convenient connections via Bangkok to and from 10 popular destinations in Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia on the network of Bangkok Airways, with which Air India enjoys an interline partnership with seamless connections beyon

Suspect in Bangkok mall shooting that killed 2 used a modified mock gun

The teenage boy who allegedly shot two people dead and wounded five others inside a major shopping mall in the centre of Thailand's capital used a mock handgun that had been modified to fire real bullets, police said Wednesday. The suspect was taken into custody less than an hour after the first gunshots Tuesday afternoon at the Siam Paragon Mall, one of Bangkok's biggest and most upscale shopping destinations. Video uploaded to social media and broadcast on television showed a long-haired teenage boy in the custody of police. Major Thai media reported he was 14 years old and a student at a prominent private school. Recently appointed Police Chief Torsak Sukvimol confirmed only that he is a minor and had a record of being treated for mental illness. Assistant National Police Chief Samran Nualma said at a news conference Wednesday that the weapon used was a plastic gun and adapted to use with real bullets. It has variously been described as originally intended to fire blanks or ...

3 persons killed, 4 others injured in shooting at Bangkok shopping mall

Local authorities have arrested the suspect with a weapon and are assessing exact casualties, according to Thailand's Central Investigation Bureau

Shoppers flee shopping mall in Bangkok after hearing reports of gunshots

Hundreds of shoppers fled a major shopping mall in the centre of the Thai capital Bangkok on Tuesday afternoon after what sounded like gunshots were heard inside. It was not immediately clear if shots had been fired or there were any casualties, but some frightened shoppers were still hunkering down inside the Siam Paragon Mall. The incident prompted authorities to shut access to a major transit stop nearby as the evening rush hour began and intense rain pounded the city, according to an Associated Press journalist at the scene. First responders could be seen entering the mall as sirens wailed outside. Witnesses said crowds of people left the building, one of several shopping centres in the area popular with tourists and well-heeled Thais alike. Chinese tourist Liu Shiying told the AP from inside the mall that she saw people running and saying someone had opened fire. She said an alarm rang out inside the mall and the lights went out. She is still taking cover inside the mall. We

Air India partners with Bangkok Airways to expand into Southeast Asia

Air India has entered into an interline partnership with Bangkok Airways that will allow Tata group airline's customers seamless connections to 10 Southeast Asian destinations beyond the Thailand capital. The two carriers have also entered a Special Prorate Agreement that allows them to file 'through fares' on routes covering each other's networks. This arrangement means that a passenger can have a single fare for a single ticket covering all destinations in an itinerary. The partnership enables Air India passengers to take convenient connections via the airline's Bangkok, Hong Kong, and Singapore gateways to and from 10 destinations in Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia on Bangkok Airways' route network, a release said on Thursday. An interline arrangement refers to a pact to issue and accept tickets for flights that are operated by the partner airline. When selling an interline ticket, the operating airlines' own flight numbers are used. The collaboration with Bangkok Airways also ...

Rabindranath Tagore's 82nd death anniversary: Facts you didn't know

Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore, also popular as "Gurudev" and the "Bard of Bengal," died at the age of 80 on August 7 in 1941 and today is his 82nd death anniversary

Shot putter Karanveer Singh fails dope test, out of Asian Championships

Shot putter Karanveer Singh has failed an out-of-competition dope test conducted recently and he will be pulled out of the Indian team for the Asian Athletics Championships in Bangkok next week. Karanveer, who trains at the National Institute of Sports (NIS) in Patiala, was earlier named in a 54-member Indian team for the July 12-16 continental championships. The Indian team will leave for Thailand on Saturday night. "Yes, that is correct," Athletics Federation of India (AFI) president Adille Sumariwalla told PTI on Saturday when asked if Karanveer had failed a dope test. The exact date of the dope test and name of the banned substance are not known. Earlier in the day, an Indian team source had said that Karanveer could be left out of the side leaving for Thailand from New Delhi and Bengaluru. The 25-year-old Karanveer had won a bronze in the Federation Cup in May with a throw of 19.05m while he was second behind Asian record holder Tajinderpal Singh Toor in the National Inter-St

Odisha govt wants to boost tourism with launch of direct Int'l flights

With the launch of direct flights connecting Bhubaneswar to Dubai, Bangkok and Singapore under the Viability Gap Funding scheme, the Odisha government is hopeful of doubling its foreign tourist arrivals in the state by 2025 from its pre-pandemic levels, a tourism official said on Monday. A "Viability Gap Funding" (VGF) is a government grant provided to airlines to bridge the gap between the cost of operations and expected revenues. "The target is to double the foreign tourist arrivals by 2025 to 2.5 lakh from the pre-Covid peak of 1.2 lakh witnessed in 2019," Sachin Jadhav, Director of Tourism Odisha, said. The Odisha government has allocated Rs 660 crore in its budget for the current financial year for the tourism sector. With the launch of direct flights with these three cities, we expect a surge in international tourists taking onward flights to Odisha, Jadhav said during the Odisha Tourism Roadshow here. We have shown a more proactive approach in starting direct flights to ...

'Bangkok Spring' sets up showdown over role of monarchy in Thailand

Pita Limjaroenrat, the 42-year-old Harvard-educated leader of Move Forward, staked his claim to becoming Thailand's prime minister after his party won the most seats

Crew crunch amid network expansion forces Air India to cut six US flights

A few flights to Bangkok and Dubai will be operated by Airbus A320 aircraft instead of the wide-body Boeing 787

Inquiring video of passengers' fight in Bangkok-Kolkata flight: BCAS chief

The Bureau of Civil Aviation Security (BCAS) on Thursday said it is inquiring about the video clip of a scuffle between passengers onboard a plane from Bangkok to Kolkata earlier this week. The video clip of the scuffle where a passenger was being slapped multiple times by a few co-passengers was shared on social media on Wednesday. "BCAS has taken cognisance of the video. We have started inquiring and further action will be taken depending on the inquiry outcome," BCAS Director General Zulfiquar Hasan told PTI on Thursday. According to a passenger who was onboard the plane, the incident happened on December 26, just before the plane was taxiing to the runway for takeoff. The plane landed at Kolkata early morning on Tuesday, the passenger, who was travelling with his mother, said. The passenger, who is from Kolkata, told PTI about the incident on condition of anonymity. He said that he was worried about his mother who was sitting near the seat where the incident happened. Accordi

Scuffle onboard plane from Bangkok to Kolkata, video on social media

A few passengers onboard a Thai Smile Airways plane from Bangkok to Kolkata were reportedly involved in a scuffle earlier this week. A video clip of the scuffle inside the aircraft was shared widely on social media on Wednesday. In the clip, a man could be seen being slapped multiple times by a few co-passengers. According to a passenger who was in the plane, the incident happened on December 26 just before the plane was taxiing to the runway for takeoff. He was travelling to Kolkata along with his mother. The passenger, who hails from Kolkata, told PTI about the incident on condition of anonymity. He said that he was worried about his mother who was sitting near the seat where the incident happened. Later, other passengers and air hostess pacified the individuals involved in the scuffle, he added. According to the passenger, the reason for the scuffle was not clear. The plane landed at Kolkata early on Tuesday morning. It could not be immediately ascertained whether the incident

Sri Lanka President calls Rajapaksa to facilitate his return: Report

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe has reached out to his predecessor Gotabaya Rajapaksa to finalise arrangements and facilitate his return to the crisis-hit country, a media report said on Monday. Rajapaksa, 73, fled the country and resigned last month in the face of a popular uprising against his government for mismanaging the island nation's economy. He is currently staying in a hotel in Bangkok with his wife Loma Rajapaksa. The Daily Mirror newspaper, citing highly-placed sources, claimed Wickremesinghe is reported to have contacted Rajapaksa to discuss arrangements for his return to the country. The move comes after the ruling party, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, National Organiser Basil Rajapaksa met Wickremesinghe recently and called for the former president's early return to the country, the report said. The date of Rajapaksa's return has still not been finalised, it said, amid reports that he may arrive here this week from Bangkok. Last week, the main Opposition pa

Three-day North East India Festival to be held in Bangkok from July 29

The festival marks 75 years of India's diplomatic relationship with Thailand and aims to promote trade, tourism, cultural exchange and people-to-people meet between the two countries

Short haul and domestic tours to drive growth, says Thomas Cook India

Thomas Cook's focus on destinations like Bangkok or Bali also coincides with the region's efforts to attract more Indian visitors

Bangkok cancels official new year events amid fear of Omicron

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) has announced that it will cancel all of its new year countdown events due to potentially rapid spread of the Omicron strain of Covid-19.

Flooding threat hangs over Thai capital Bangkok lashed by monsoon rains

The threat had eased in 13 of 30 provinces elsewhere that were lashed by seasonal monsoon rains

Blast at Thai factory shakes Bangkok airport terminal, area evacuated

A massive explosion at a factory on the outskirts of Bangkok early Monday shook an airport terminal serving Thailand's capital and prompted the evacuation of residents from the area

Thai PM orders one month closure of worker camps in Bangkok due to Covid

Thailand's Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha said on Friday that temporary closure will be applied to specific clusters to stem domestic spreads of Covid-19.

Thailand plans $3.2 billion stimulus next week to ease Coronavirus impact

The measures, to be submitted to a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, will include handouts, soft loans and steps to support the stock market