Air India Express adds Kochi and Visakhapatnam nonstops to Bangkok from late October

Two new Bangkok routes, both on sale

Air India Express is adding two nonstop routes from south India to Bangkok for the winter schedule. Both appear in schedule data published by AeroRoutes on 14 September, and on 17 September both were showing fares on the airline’s own Bangkok route page.

From Kochi: four flights a week to Suvarnabhumi on a Boeing 737-800 from 25 October. Onmanorama reported on 8 September that the flight operates on Sundays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. It leaves Kochi at 22:15 and reaches Bangkok at 03:55 the next day, and the return leaves Bangkok at 04:55 and lands in Kochi at 07:40. The airline’s page listed departures on Thursday 12 November and Sunday 22 November, which is consistent with those days. The route joins existing nonstops from Kochi by AirAsia and Thai Lion Air, according to Onmanorama.

From Visakhapatnam: two flights a week to Suvarnabhumi on a Boeing 737 MAX 8 from 27 October. The airline’s page listed departures on Friday 6 November and Tuesday 17 November. We have not found a timetable for this route published by the airline, so we do not give timings. We held this route on 12 September, when the only source was an air travellers’ association saying it was “likely”. It is now in the schedule data and bookable, which is the standard this desk applies to a route story.

Four more routes, not yet confirmed by the airline

The same AeroRoutes schedule update lists four Gulf and Middle East routes: Amritsar–Abu Dhabi three times weekly from 25 October; Chandigarh–Sharjah four times weekly from 26 October, with no service from 1 December to 31 January; Mangaluru–Ras al Khaimah twice weekly from 26 October; and Mumbai–Kuwait City three times weekly from 27 October. We have not found an Air India Express announcement for any of them. On 17 September the airline’s fare pages showed no fares for Amritsar–Abu Dhabi, Chandigarh–Sharjah or Mangaluru–Ras al Khaimah. Its Kuwait page listed a Navi Mumbai departure rather than the Mumbai service in the filing. Treat these four as schedule filings, not confirmed launches, until they can be booked.

What it means for travellers from Kerala and Andhra Pradesh

For Kerala and north coastal Andhra Pradesh, a nonstop to Bangkok removes the connection through a metro hub for the October–March season. The late-evening Kochi departure lands in Bangkok before dawn, so book the first night’s hotel from the night before or arrange an early check-in. Remember the entry rules that changed on 15 September: Indian passport holders now get a 30-day visa-free stay in Thailand, not 60. Air India Express joins IndiGo, which is adding its own Guwahati–Bangkok route from 27 October.

Sources

This report is based on the following published sources. Rules and schedules change — confirm with the issuing authority before you travel.

• Air India Express NW26 International Network Additions — AeroRoutes, 14 September 2026
• Air India Express to launch Kochi to Bangkok direct flight; crew to get new uniforms — Onmanorama, 08 September 2026
• Flights to Bangkok — fares listed from Kochi and Visakhapatnam (checked 17 September 2026) — Air India Express