New Delhi (NVI): Thai Airways has launched a special spiritual “flight to nowhere” for passengers who want to recite mantras while flying over some of Thailand’s holiest Buddhist sites.
The airline will fly a one-off flight under the “THAI Magical Flying Experience Campaign”, which will last for three hours on November 30 and fly over 99 religious sites across the nation.
Wiwat Piyawiroj, a vice president at Thai Airways, said in a statement that the flight is intended to fall under the country government’s plan to boost domestic tourism in Thailand.
The plane will take off from Bangkok and journey over Wat Arun and the Temple of Emerald Buddha in Bangkok, Phra Samut Chedi in Samut Prakarn, Wat Phra Boromma That Chaiya in Surat Thani and the UNESCO-listed heritage sites in Sukhothai and Ayutthaya, the CNN Travel reported.
In total, passengers will travel over 31 of Thailand’s 77 provinces including, before returning to the Thai capital.
During the journey, a celebrity fortune teller and religion history expert, Dr Khata Chinbunchon, will lead the in-flight chanting of Buddhist mantras.
Thailand, like many other destinations around the world, has experienced a significant decrease in tourism revenue amid the global COVID-19 pandemic.
The sightseeing flights in places like the Grand Canyon and the Nazca Lines have existed for a long time, but the “flight to nowhere” is a more recent trend.
As the airlines in Thailand struggle to recover their losses and travelers are hemmed in by closed borders, these sightseeing flights have become an option to meet in the middle.
Furthermore, the airways has confirmed that the flight will only accept bookings up until November 25. The economy class tickets for the flight start from 5,999 baht (€165) for economy class and 9,999 baht (€275) for premium class.
-RJV
