Thai Airways International’s (THAI) baggage mishandling and flight delays caused by flooding have damaged Thailand’s tourism image and weakened confidence in the sector, Tourism and Sports Minister Surasak Phancharoenworakul said Tuesday, as quoted by the Bangkok Post.
While flooding prevented some employees from commuting to work, the main cause of the disruption was the airline’s lack of operational readiness and management preparedness, Surasak said.
The minister said he had experienced the disruption firsthand while returning to Thailand from Japan on a Thai Airways flight.
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Staff from Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport expedite passenger assistance and provide information at service areas and baggage claim points. Photo courtesy of the airport |
Thai Airways Chief Executive Chai Eamsiri said the airline’s initial impact assessment had been inaccurate, Pattaya Mail reported.
Flooding prevented around 300 ground staff and specialized personnel from reporting to work, he said at a press conference, while apologizing to passengers for the disruption.
The airline has about 500 ground staff but was short of 200 to 300 workers during the disruption.
The airline had also ordered a 30% reduction in daily flights to allow operations to reset and improve punctuality.
Approximately 100 personnel from the Royal Thai Air Force and Ministry of Defense have been deployed to assist with meal service, cargo handling and baggage sorting to clear the backlog by Friday.
The airline has increased the number of baggage delivery units from two to three, allowing passengers who have not yet received their luggage to register their delivery addresses via a QR code. It also plans to set up counters to handle complaints and process compensation claims.
A travel agency representative said that after returning from Guangzhou on the evening of Sept. 28, he and his tour group waited three to four hours but did not receive their luggage. The group was subsequently asked to leave the airport, keeping their passports and boarding passes so they could return the following day, Thai Examiner reported.
Suvarnabhumi, located in Samut Prakan Province, approximately 25 km from the center of Bangkok, is Thailand’s largest international airport and currently has a capacity of approximately 45 million passengers per year.
The baggage crisis came as Thailand prepares to enter its peak tourism season, with the country targeting 33 million foreign visitors by the end of the year.
Thailand, the second most visited country in Southeast Asia, welcomed 22.1 million foreign tourists from Jan. 1 to Sept. 19, down 3.67% year-on-year.