Just in case it escaped your notice – it hasn’t been publicized a lot – as of today you no longer have to purchase a 500 Baht departure tax coupon for international passengers at all Thai airports.

Actually, that’s the ‘good news’ way of putting it. You actually still have to pay a departure tax, which is now 700 Baht, but it has been included in the cost of your ticket. At least it should have been. Tickets issued more than a couple months ago may not have had the tax included, so expect some check-in delays for the first few weeks as people are unexpectedly asked to fork over an extra 700 Baht when they check in for their flights.