Which airport should your jet land at?
You want to step off the jet and sit down to dinner within the hour. That starts with the right airport, so choose it by where you are staying. Use Don Mueang for Bangkok, Phuket for Phuket, Khao Lak and Phang Nga, U-Tapao for Pattaya and Samui for Koh Samui. CAAT's published airport data for Suvarnabhumi lists 24-hour handling, with a licensed ground handler for ad hoc charter and corporate jets.
Don Mueang (Bangkok): private jet terminal. Bangkok's older airport, also used by many domestic flights.
Suvarnabhumi (Bangkok): no separate private terminal, but handling runs 24 hours for charter and corporate jets.
Phuket: private jet terminal. Surin Beach is about 40 minutes by car and Khao Lak about 80 minutes (checked November 2026).
U-Tapao (Pattaya): private jet terminal. Pattaya is about 40 minutes by car.
Koh Samui: open 06:00 to 22:00 only, so plan the flight to land in daylight hours or early evening.
Tell us the hotel first. We then match the airport and the slot to it, which is the start of every plan our private jet charter team builds.
What permission does a private jet need?
A foreign aircraft needs either a treaty right or the written permission of the Minister to fly into, take off from or land in Thailand. This is under the Air Navigation Act as CAAT applies it. In practice your ground handler files the landing permit and books the slot for you.
The handler also arranges parking, fuel and the crew's paperwork. For a non-commercial flight, the lead time for the permit is at least 3 business days before the flight. You apply through the online system of the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (AIP GEN 1.2). Give us the aircraft type, registration and passenger list early, and the handler files the rest.
Can you fly between Thai cities on a foreign jet?
No. CAAT's published rules (AIP GEN 1.2) do not let foreign carriers fly charter passengers between two points inside Thailand. A foreign-registered jet can bring you in and take you out, but it cannot carry you from Bangkok to Phuket on the same trip.
For the domestic leg, use a Thai-registered aircraft or a premium cabin on a scheduled flight. We book the Thai aircraft through our private aviation partners. A Thai jet is priced per route, not per hour, and paid in full before departure. Your own jet can wait at the first airport or reposition empty to meet you at the last one.
Immigration and customs at a private jet terminal
Every passenger still clears Thai immigration and customs on arrival, whether the jet lands at a private terminal or a main one. Each foreign passenger must also file the Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) online within 3 days before arrival. It is free and it is not a visa.
Where immigration and customs checks take place depends on the airport and the terminal. Tanner's team confirms the arrangement with the private terminal before your flight. Use only the official TDAC site, tdac.immigration.go.th; look-alike sites charge fees.
Thai Customs lists a duty-free allowance of 1 litre of alcohol and 200 cigarettes or 250 g of tobacco per passenger. Foreign currency worth more than US$15,000 must be declared on arrival. That is a declaration rule, not a limit.
What happens after you land
On a private arrival, our host meets you as you come out of the private terminal. The host takes the luggage tags, and the car door is already open. At a main terminal the service is a private meet-and-assist service we book for you, not an official airport lane.
There, our host meets you in the arrivals hall and walks you through, using the priority lane only where your ticket or status allows. Thai immigration sells no paid queue service through any company. Your bags travel separately in a second car if you prefer. More on the welcome itself is on our VIP arrivals page.
The drive or the helicopter to your hotel
The usual next step is a car. From U-Tapao, Pattaya is about 40 minutes by car. From Phuket airport, Surin Beach takes about 40 minutes and Khao Lak about 80 minutes (checked November 2026). From Suvarnabhumi, Pattaya is about 1 hour 55, longer in rush hour.
Example plan: your jet lands at U-Tapao in the late afternoon. Our host meets you outside the private terminal, and the car waits at the kerb. About 40 minutes later you reach your Pattaya pool villa, where a private chef has started dinner.
A helicopter can shorten the last leg. No main Thai airport has a separate helicopter pad: helicopters use the runway like any aircraft. Anantara Layan in Phuket shows its own helipad on its website. For other hotels we confirm a legal landing site before we book the flight.
Privacy and security on arrival
Thai law lets only licensed Thai security firms provide guards, under the Security Guard Business Act B.E. 2558. A principal's own bodyguards from abroad may travel with the party and advise, but they cannot legally work as guards in Thailand. We hire a licensed Thai team to work with them.
Drones may not fly within 9 km of an airport, which helps keep the apron private. Ask the venue and hotel to hold the arrival time back from staff lists. Our advance team and security guide covers the full plan.
Plan it with Tanner
One planner joins up every part of a private jet arrival in Thailand. That means the handler, the slot, the host, the cars, any helicopter leg and the hotel. You send one brief with the aircraft, the guests and the dates. Tanner returns one plan with one point of contact. We have staff in every main town, and we say so when a helicopter leg saves no time.
Start with the dates and the hotel. More options for high-profile guests are in our celebrity and VIP chapter.
