LONDON, UK – Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul met with Virgin Atlantic executives in London to support the airline’s first direct flights to Southeast Asia. Beginning October 18, 2026, Virgin Atlantic will offer direct service from London Heathrow to Phuket, aiming to increase high-value tourism from the United Kingdom.
The meeting took place on September 25, 2026, during a reception for UK government and business representatives at The Dorchester. Facilitated by the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) London Office, Prime Minister Anutin and Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs Sihasak Phuangketkeow met with Virgin Atlantic Chief Commercial Officer Dave Geer and Head of Government and Industry Affairs Graeme Elliott.
The new route will operate three times a week until March 26, 2027, offering 774 seats weekly. Airline executives noted that advance bookings have already surpassed expectations, indicating strong demand from the UK. Prime Minister Anutin also discussed opportunities to expand additional routes to Thailand.
To support the launch, TAT partnered with the airline to run joint promotional campaigns at Virgin Atlantic Holidays branches in major UK shopping centers. These efforts generated over 9,000 seat reservations between January and March 2026 and reached 5.4 million impressions.
Thailand welcomed a record 1 million UK tourists in 2025, making the UK one of the top five markets for foreign tourism revenue. From January 1 to September 24, 2026, Thailand recorded 715,191 UK visitors. With new winter flights from Virgin Atlantic and Norse Atlantic, officials project total UK arrivals will reach 1.02 million in 2026, generating an estimated 69.72 billion baht in national revenue. (NNT)
