Azur Air cuts Krasnoyarsk-Thailand flights despite popularity

Azur Air will reduce charter flights to Phuket from Krasnoyarsk and Novosibirsk starting February 19, according to the Association of Tour Operators of Russia.

From Krasnoyarsk, there will be two flights per month instead of three. From Novosibirsk — three instead of four.

Tourists with tickets for flights after February 19 are advised to check the flight status with tour operators. Those planning a trip should monitor updates from the carrier and tour companies.

The flights are being reduced due to fleet problems — Azur Air has temporarily lost one aircraft. As reported, the same plane had to make emergency landings twice due to engine issues: on January 23, a flight from Phuket to Barnaul made an emergency landing in China, and on January 28, a flight from Nha Trang to Irkutsk landed in Hanoi.

After the first incident, the defective pipeline was replaced, but on January 28 in Vietnam, the situation repeated on the same right engine, and the plane remained grounded. According to the Telegram channel «Aviatorshchina,» the Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya) required the airline to conduct an unscheduled inspection of the engines on its Boeing 757 aircraft.

In December 2024, an aircraft of the airline was delayed in Krasnoyarsk for more than half a day.

According to Aviasales, from Krasnoyarsk to Phuket, direct flights are also operated by, for example, Aeroflot, and with connections — by S7 Airlines and Rossiya Airlines. According to Krasnoyarsk airport, in 2025, nearly 123.7 thousand passengers flew from Krasnoyarsk to Phuket. This is the most popular international destination among direct flights.