Thailand’s largest airline, Thai Airways, is reducing its flight frequency to Asian and European destinations as the battle with fuel costs continues.
The airline is making sweeping cuts across its network in May 2026. North Asia is bearing the heaviest cuts as Seoul Incheon will see a dramatic reduction from three daily flights to just one between May 8 and May 31, the steepest proportional cut in the network.
Beijing and Shanghai will each drop from two daily flights to one for most of May, while Tokyo Narita will drop from three daily flights to two. Taipei will drop from three daily services to two, and Hong Kong from four daily flights to three. Kaohsiung in Taiwan will be suspended entirely from May 8 to May 31, having previously operated one flight per day.
The national carrier has chosen to minimise flight frequency on long-haul flights to Frankfurt, Munich (Germany), Copenhagen (Denmark), and Stockholm (Sweden), reducing service to just five flights a week, compared to their usual daily operation.
The airline claims that the reduced flights are to accommodate a lack of travel demand, while also managing elevated travel costs, particularly fuel.
Other Thai airlines, including Thai Lion Air, Nok Air, Thai AirAsia, and Thai AirAsia X, have also followed these precautionary steps, suspending routes to South Korea, China, India, and Japan.
Not the only Asian airline cutting flights
Asian-based airlines, including AirAsia, have cut flights from Adelaide, Sydney, and Melbourne. To help maximise their trips, they have swapped out narrow-body planes for wide-body aircraft on their Perth-Kuala Lumpur route.
Many airlines are following these steps, such as Fiji Airlines, who are putting a pause on some flights to Australia and the US.
Fiji Airways latest to adjust schedules, with some Brisbane and DFW flights affected
The majority of Fiji Airlines flights remain unchanged at the moment. Limited change includes temporarily suspending its FJ922 and FJ923 flights however, a daily service will continue to operate. And Tuesday services to Dallas Fort Worth, FJ891 and FJ890, are temporarily suspended.
Australia is also cutting flights
Qantas is grappling with an estimated $800 million increase in its fuel bill, leading it to re-evaluate its domestic routes and resulting in temporary suspensions and reductions in flight frequencies. Hamilton Island to Melbourne route will pause from May 18 to June 29, 2026, and the Darwin to Gold Coast route will be suspended from May 18 to October 12, 2026.
Virgin Australia has officially confirmed a 1 per cent reduction in total flight capacity leading up to June 2026. While 1 per cent may sound marginal, in the context of the Australian domestic and regional market, it represents the removal of thousands of seats, driving up prices on critical routes like Sydney-Melbourne-Brisbane.
