Airbus A320neo Spring Airlines B-320L (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

 Airbus A330-300 RA-73849 Nordwind (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

As has been the case for several years now, our editor Guido E. Bühlmann, now in his 90s, spent December 2025 and January 2026 in Thailand – more specifically in Phuket – to photograph aircraft at Phuket International Airport. This year, the author accompanied him on some of these trips and also took his own photographs. It is worth noting that Phuket Airport is very well suited to plane spotting. We will highlight the three best spots for photography in our report.

Boeing 777-200 Thai Airways HS-TJR (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Boeing 777-200ER Red Wings RA-73331 (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Airbus A320251N(SL)  Air India VT-CIQ (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Boeing 737-86N Smartwings Spicejet OK-TVU  (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Airbus A321neo Hong Kong Express  B-KKP (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Thai Air Asia is one of the many low-cost airlines in South-East Asia. It was founded on 8 December 2003 as a joint venture with the Malaysian airline Air Asia. It commenced operations on 13 January 2004. Today, it operates exclusively Airbus aircraft. The fleet comprises (as of 2026) 44 Airbus A320-200s, 11 A320neos and 7 A321neos. Thai Air Asia flies to a total of 67 destinations in Thailand and South-East Asia. The aircraft have a distinctive appearance with a red fuselage and tail, whilst the cockpit is white. Particularly attractive, however, are the many special liveries on the aircraft, including those of the parent company Air Asia from Malaysia, which fly regularly to Phuket.

Airbus A-320-200 HS-ABJ (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Airbus A-320-216 HS-ABR (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Airbus A-320-216 9M-AQI (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Airbus A-320-200 9M-AGM (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Airbus A-320-200 9M-AGY (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Airbus A-320-216 9M-AJE (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Airbus A-320-216 9M-AJS (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Airbus A-320-216 9M-AQF (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Airbis A320neo 9M-AGE (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Airbus A-320-216 9M-AQM (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Airbus A-320-200 9M-DAF (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Airbus A-320-200 9M-RAN (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Airbus A-320-200 9M-RAW (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Airbus A-320-216 HS-AGS  (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Airbus A-320-216 HS-CBR (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

The Skywalk Restaurant is a fairly new spot for watching and photographing planes. It is situated roughly at the take-off point for domestic flights on Road 4031, so you can get good shots of planes taking off. The exception is the ATR-72s, which are already quite high up. The existing viewing platform has now been extended and runs almost right up to Road 4031 and the power lines. The major drawback is that there are a lot of power cables obstructing the view. The family running the site is working on optimising the viewing platform.

If you make the effort, you can take some interesting photos. Another advantage is that there are still relatively few people here, so you don’t have to jostle for space.

View from the Restaurant (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Airbus A320-200 Sichuan Airlines B-8499 (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Airbus A321neo Air Astana EI-KGI  (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Boeing 737-800 Nok Air HS-DBT(Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Boeing 737 MAX 8 Singapore Airlines 9V-MBA (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Boeing 737-8U3 Batik Air 9M-LCU (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Airbus A350-941 Finnair OH-LWG (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Airbus A321-251NX IndiGo VT-NHA (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Airbus A320neo Air Arabia A6-ARC  (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Airbus A320-232 Thai Airways HS-TXJ (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

ATR 72-600 Bangkok Airways HS-PZZ (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

ATR 72-600 Bangkok Airways HS-PZB (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Boeing 777-300ER Qatar Airways A7-BAV (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Boeing 737-900ER Thai Lion Air HS-LVS (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Airbus A321neo Cathay Pacific B-HPQ  (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

8/5 Runway Cafe

The 8/5 Runway Cafe is now quite well known and is also located on Road 4031, which is reflected in the number of visitors. It’s also quite cramped. If you manage to snag a good seat, you can have a lovely day here. As with the Skywalk Restaurant, it’s quite close to the taxiway. That’s why I took lots of photos using a 50mm lens.

A drink, some food and Airplanes (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Boeing 757-200 Sunday Airlines  UP-B5705 (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Boeing 757-300ER Sunday Airlines UP-B6703 (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Airbus A330-941 Condor D-ANRJ (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Boeing B777-200ER El Al 4X-ECE (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Boeing 737-8 Mongolian JU-1088 (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Boeing 737-Max-8 Singapore Airlines 9V-MBL (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Airbus A320neo Juneyao Air B-326J (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Airbus A321-200F Teleport 9M-TLA(Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Airbus A330-900 Sunclass OY-VKO(Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Boeing 777-200 Nordwind/Ikar RA-73272 (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner neos EI-NEU (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Boeing B787-9 Dreamliner Norse LN-FND (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Boeing 777-300ER Qatar A7-BAA  (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Boeing B737 MAX 8 Vietjet Air HS-VZD (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Airbus A321neo Vietjetair VN-A549(Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Honda HA-420 "Private" HS-SWW (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Cessna 208B Grand Caravan Siam Scenic HS-SSP (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Fokker 50 Republic of Singepore Air Force #718 (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Airbus A330-200 Gullivair LZ-ONE (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Mai Khao Beech

The beach is best known as a spot for taking photos. Right in the runway’s centreline, there are many influencers and selfie tourists who want to stand directly beneath the landing aircraft to post photos of themselves with the planes on social media. However, Wings-Aviation isn’t interested in self-promotion, but in the aircraft themselves. That’s why we’ve only taken photos showing the planes as they land – without us in them. Mai Khao Beach, with its backdrop, is one of the best spots for photos.

The Beach (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Boeing 737 MAX 8 VietJet Air HS-VZB (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Airbus A-320-216 Thai Air Asia  HS-ABR (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner Qatar Airways A7-BCP  (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Airbus A321-271NX Scoot 9V-NCK  (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Airbus A330-941 D-ANRT Condor (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Airbus A330-223 TC-GRB Qanot Sharq  (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Airbus A330-300 RA-73849 Nordwind (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Airbus A350-941 OH-LWP Finnair (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Boeing 757-200 UP-B5705 Sunday Airlines (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Airbus A321-211 VietJet Air HS-VKH (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Airbus A321-251NX(LR) Air Arabia A6-ATA (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Boeing B787-10 Dreamliner HZ-AR28 Saudia (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Boeing 737 MAX 8 Oman Air A4O-MD (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Airbus A321-251NX IndiGo VT-NHG (Picture courtesy Michael E. Fader)

Boeing 767-300 EI-KEA Air Astana (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Boeing B777-300ER RA-73141 Aeroflot (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Boeing B777-200 RA-73272 Nordwind IKAR (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner UK-78706 Uzbekistan Airways  (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

Airbus A340-300 EP-MJD Mahan Air (Picture courtesy Guido Bühlmann)

last update 5. April 2026

Written 1. April 2026

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