Thailand's 2026 Airport Changes: Departure Fees, THIM and the Proposed Tourist Fee

Three separate things are changing at Thailand's airports in 2026, and a trade partner should keep them apart. The international departure charge rose to 1,120 baht on 20 June and sits inside the ticket price. THIM is an available arrival app alongside the existing TDAC website. The proposed tourist fee still needs a separate check.

This is guidance, not legal or immigration advice; confirm each point on the official sources we link before you quote or book. Partners building Thailand itineraries or combined trips across our two core destinations will also want our overview of Thailand and Vietnam entry requirements.

The departure charge rose 53 per cent on 20 June

Airports of Thailand raised the international Passenger Service Charge from 730 to 1,120 baht per departing passenger, effective 20 June 2026. That is a 53 per cent increase. The charge is embedded in the airfare at the moment a ticket is issued, so any ticket issued on or after 20 June already carries the higher rate. Tickets issued before that date stay at 730 baht. It applies to Thai and foreign passengers alike, on international flights from all six AOT airports: Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Mae Fah Luang Chiang Rai and Hat Yai. The domestic charge is unchanged at 130 baht. The per-person increase is 390 baht, roughly 11 US dollars. On one ticket that is easy to miss. At group scale it is not: a 20-passenger group pays about 7,800 baht more than the same group ticketed a day earlier, a 30-passenger group about 11,700 baht, and a 40-passenger group about 15,600 baht. Confirm the current figure on the TAT Newsroom announcement before you build a departure cost line.

The arrival app, THIM, and where its rollout stands

THIM is available through the official RoyalThaiPolice listing, which records an update on 25 September 2026. It accepts arrival information and group submissions. The Immigration Bureau's TDAC guide also continues to direct travellers to the website. We could not verify any instruction requiring every traveller to install THIM or announcing the website's withdrawal. Clients still need to complete the required arrival card and keep their confirmation.

TAT's 11 June announcement described an optional pilot with an August launch planned. Registration was expected to take no more than three minutes. Other details included passport scanning, groups of up to ten and four initial languages. Those are historical specifications. Check current instructions before allocating the work for a group or promising language support. Our Thailand and Vietnam entry rules guide covers the wider arrival documents.

The proposed 450-baht tourist fee needs a separate check

The Ministry's tourist-fee consultation notice proposes 450 baht for foreign arrivals, replacing the earlier 300/150-baht design, with draft exemptions. Its published consultation window ran from 24 August to 28 September 2026 and has ended. As of our 4 October check, we have not verified a final collection notice in the sources reviewed. The proposed 180-day period after Royal Gazette publication is not a confirmed start date. Do not present the fee as payable without checking the final rules. It is separate from the airport departure charge already included in tickets. Our 450-baht tourist-fee article records the proposal and the verification limits.

What this means for programmes you are selling now

Three quick actions cover it. First, update your Thailand departure cost line for any ticket issued from 20 June 2026, because the higher passenger service charge is already inside those fares whether or not the client noticed. Second, direct clients to the current official TDAC instructions; an available THIM app does not establish an obligation to install it or a withdrawal of the website. Third, leave the tourist fee out of your costings until it is formally in force. There is a knock-on for two-country pricing too. The Thai departure leg now carries a heavier charge than it did in May, so a combined Thailand and Vietnam quote built earlier in the year has one line that needs re-checking, and it is the Thai one. For a refresher on reading a quote line by line, see how to read a DMC quote. Our note on the restored Bangkok to Amsterdam nonstop covers flights.

Re-pricing a 2027 Thailand programme, or a combined Thailand and Vietnam one? Send us the brief for the ground arrangements.