The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) has released data on passenger traffic between Thailand and China, noting that after the COVID-19 pandemic subsided, passenger numbers on this route steadily recovered.
The rebound was supported by China’s reopening policy and the implementation of a visa-exemption scheme (Free Visa), which boosted tourism.
Since 2023, passenger volumes have been rising continuously. However, an incident affecting Chinese travellers’ confidence in safety early in 2025 led to a decline.
A comparison of Chinese passenger travel between 2024 and 2025 shows the following:
Inbound passengers on Thai–China routes (monthly average)
2024: 615,000
2025: 531,000 (down 13.63%)
Chinese tourists (monthly average)
2024: 561,000
2025: 378,000 (down 32.71%)
According to air transport statistics, the number of inbound passengers on Thai–China routes in January 2025 reached 751,000, a 34.68% increase compared with the same month in 2024.
The growth was largely attributed to the Free Visa policy introduced by both countries, which boosted travel by Thai tourists to China and Chinese tourists to Thailand.
However, following a safety-related incident that undermined Chinese travellers’ confidence in visiting Thailand, the average monthly passenger volume in 2025 fell by 13.63%.
This aligns with figures from the Ministry of Tourism and Sports, which show that the average number of Chinese tourists visiting Thailand declined by 32.71% in 2025.
Nevertheless, Thai travellers continue to visit China in large numbers, which has cushioned the aviation sector from the sharper decline seen in the tourism industry.
This is reflected in the smaller drop in overall passenger numbers compared with the decline in Chinese tourist arrivals.
The Thai–China route remains one of the country’s key air transport corridors. In 2024, it accounted for 18.71% of all international passengers.
Yet, when comparing the January–May period of 2025 with the same period in 2024, passenger numbers on this route dropped by 12.30%.
The CAAT has cautioned that, with passenger numbers on this major route showing a downward trend in 2025, the overall figure may continue to fall unless new tourist markets emerge.
It identified four key factors to monitor that could affect passenger numbers on Thai–China flights.