Phuket International Airport Arrivals (HKT)

Flight Arrivals at Phuket International Airport

Located in the north of the island, Phuket International Airport lies just 32 km distance from Phuket City and about 39 km from Patong Beach, the island's most popular resort. From 21st November 2018, passengers arriving at Phuket Airport's Terminal will find a new E-Visa for their use. It will be available 24 hours a day. Obtaining a visa will now take just one minute, according to official sources, and passengers can pay their visa fee online. The same service will now also be available at Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports.

In 2017, Phuket International Airport handled some 16.8 million passengers, of which 9.2 million were international travelers and 7.6 million were domestic tourists. The newly refurbished terminal is easy to navigate, as it is well signposted. Passing through Immigration in Bangkok, most international passengers won't have to pass through Immigration again at Phuket. There's just passport control, then Customs and the baggage reclaim to go through, before passengers find themselves in the arrivals hall.

There are several car rental companies with rental stations located in the arrivals hall, and there are more car hire providers stationed just outside the terminal. Their location is signposted and within a short walk of the terminal.

The bus station is located at the left end of the terminal. There are two types of airport buses. The orange ones go mostly to Phuket City and leave once an hour. The cream-coloured ones also leave once an hour, but they go to Patong on the southwest coast. Travelling by bus takes rather a long time, compared to taxi rides or private car rental, but it is the cheapest option. A one-way ticket can be purchased either from the counter at the terminal's exit, or onboard the cream-coloured Patong bus directly from the driver. A one-way ticket costs around 3.95 euros or 148 THB. Airport buses run between 7.30 am and 9.30 pm.

Just outside the terminal is the Taxi Meter stand, where arriving passengers can board a metered taxi to their chosen destination. Taking this option is cheaper than pre-arranged private limousine or taxi hire. A one-way trip to Patong for example takes around 50 minutes and costs around 23.00 euros (ca. 864 THB). By comparison, the bus takes one hour and 45 minutes for the same trip, as it has to serve many stops in-between.

Taking a pre-booked private taxi for two adults without children costs around 73.00 euros or 2,742 TBH for a return trip. The door-to-door journey takes 1.5 hours to Patong and includes a Meet-and-Greet service at the terminal on arrival. Passengers are permitted to take one suitcase each on the trip.