Dozens of schools across Thailand have taken the decision to close temporarily over Covid-19 fears sparked by the two recent cases in Bangkok and Rayong.

Schools in Chonburi, Trat and Korat choosing to close are doing so as pupils had visited Rayong where an Egyptian soldier tested positive for Covid-19 during a stopover during which he visited a local shopping mall.

Others located in Bangkok have switched to online lessons after it was revealed the daughter of a Sudanese diplomat tested positive for coronavirus and she’d been living at a condominium on Sukhumvit Soi 26.

Two of the schools choosing to close are located on Sukhumvit 101 and another in the Din Daeng district, which are both a fair distance from Phrom Phong.

Schools closing to test students and staff and disinfect their classrooms after families had visited Rayong with several staying in the same hotel as the Egyptian are understandable but others opting to shut “just in case” have left many parents questioning the decision of headteachers.

A caddy from Chiang Mai is demanding 500,000 baht in compensation from an Italian man after being accidentally hit in the eye with a golf ball earlier this year.

Pairin Kantawongs, 56, together with the course director visited Mae Ping police station on Monday to file a complaint after negotiations over a settlement between her and the golfer failed.

She claims she is unable to work and suffers from blurred vision following the accident in January.

The Italian offered 5,000 baht towards her medical expenses saying she should not have been standing in front of him when he took his shot saying she was at fault, not him.

Thai media report that the case will end up in court as police have no power to prosecute or force payment as the injury was caused by an accident.

Due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak and the continuous immigration restrictions and governmental measures imposed by several countries, Thai Airways has extended the temporary suspension of its international operations until the end of August 2020.

If your flight has been cancelled, staff are currently in the process of advising you or your travel agent accordingly. Please ensure you check the status of your flight through the “My Booking” section of the official Thai Airways website.

Passengers with tickets booked on/before 31 May 2020 through the website or ticket office for travel up to 31 January 2021 between any Thai and Thai Smile destination affected by these changes have the following options:

PLEASE NOTE: IF YOU BOOKED YOUR TICKET THROUGH A TRAVEL AGENT, YOU WILL NEED TO CONTACT THEM FOR ASSISTANCE.

1. REBOOKING AND TICKET EXTENSION:

Thai will waive the applicable change fee so passengers can rebook now or extend the validity of their ticket and rebook later when you are ready to do so, for travel up to 31st December 2021.

Please note the following important information:

– Passengers can change their date of travel on the same route, in the same booking class or extend their ticket validity free of charge
– All travel must be completed by 31 December 2021
– Any additional fare difference, taxes and surcharges (if any) to be collected if rebooked in a higher booking class

To extend your ticket and rebook later:

– If you have booked through a travel agent, please contact them directly.
– If you booked through our website, this can be done automatically by filling in this form. Once you are ready to book, you can contact the local THAI office.

To rebook now:

– If you have booked through a travel agent, please contact them directly.

– If you booked through our website, please email our reservations team at reservations@thaiairways.co.uk with your request. If you email the Reservations team you do not have to do anything else. As long as there is a record of you contacting the team, they will get back to you as soon as they are able to process your request.

2. REROUTING:

Thai will waive the applicable rerouting and reissuing fees to all existing bookings so passengers can reroute their travel up to 31st December 2021.

Please note the following important information:

– All travel must be completed by 31 December 2021
– Any additional fare difference, taxes and surcharges (if any) to be collected

To reroute your ticket:

– If you have booked through a travel agent, please contact them directly.
– If you booked through our website, please email our reservations team at reservations@thaiairways.co.uk with your request. If you email the Reservations team you do not have to do anything else. As long as there is a record of you contacting the team, they will get back to you as soon as they are able to process your request.

3. TRAVEL VOUCHER:

Passengers can request a refund in the form of a travel voucher for the value of their current totally unused ticket. The voucher is valid for one year from the date of issue.

Should you wish to choose this option, please note the following important information:

A / The Travel Voucher can be used as credit towards any future travel on THAI or THAI Smile to / from any worldwide destinations.
B / The Travel Voucher is valid for 12 months from the date of issue.
C / Please contact your local THAI Office to make a new reservation for issue a ticket against the travel voucher before it expires.
D / Fare/tax/surcharge differences may apply to the new itinerary.
E / The travel voucher can be transferred with proof of document presented at time of ticketing.
F / The travel voucher can be refunded if not used at the end of its expiry date

To request your travel voucher:

– If you have booked through a travel agent, please contact them directly.
– If you booked through our website, this can be done automatically by filling in this form. Once you are ready to book, you can contact the local THAI office.

4. CANCELLATION:

Passengers can also opt to cancel their booking. Please note that due to the number of requests being currently received, refunds are estimated to take up to 6 months to process.

Please note the following important information:

– Thai Airways will waive the refund fee for all bookings affected by flight cancellations
– Totally unused tickets will be refunded in full
– Partially used tickets refunds will be calculated based on flight(s) flown

To cancel your booking:

– If you have booked through a travel agent, please contact them directly.
– If you booked through the website and would like to cancel any remaining sectors of your booking and request for a partial refund, please email our reservations team at reservations@thaiairways.co.uk with your request.
– If you booked through the website and would like to cancel your fully unused ticket and request for a full refund, please email our reservations team at reservations@thaiairways.co.uk with your request. If you email the Reservations team you do not have to do anything else. As long as there is a record of you contacting the team, they will get back to you as soon as they are able to process your request, considering the above.

The above options come into effect as of 11 June 2020 and are not retroactive.

5. ROYAL ORCHID PLUS BOOKINGS:

For more information, please visit the ROP website.