With ground staff stranded by floodwaters, Suvarnabhumi's halls are filling with travellers waiting hours for their suitcases.
Since Saturday 26 September, Suvarnabhumi Airport on the outskirts of Bangkok has been unable to return luggage within acceptable timeframes. Thai Airways passengers are crowding into saturated halls, while piles of bags accumulate away from the carousels.
The airport is not closed; the problems stem from the city. After nearly forty-eight hours of torrential rain (around 300 millimetres across the capital, more than 330 in some districts), Bangkok authorities have placed all fifty districts in a disaster zone. Some 52,000 households have been affected. Flooded roads have cut off the route to work for some ground staff.
Located in Samut Prakan province, Suvarnabhumi therefore lacked staff at a time when flights continued to land. Thai Airways transfer trolleys were also out of service. The airport director, Kittipong Kittikhachorn, acknowledged delayed departures and abnormally long waits on arrival. In its statement, the airport summarised the blockage:
The flooding in several areas has affected the ability of Thai Airways ground service agents to reach the airport. Some employees were unable to report for duty, resulting in a staff shortage and the postponement of baggage from several flights.
On Sunday evening, the Minister of Tourism and Sports, Surasak Phancharoenworakul, indicated that both domestic and international passengers were waiting four to six hours. Photographs shared by the Associated Press show travellers this weekend queuing at the airline's desks to check in suitcases they had been unable to collect. A Taiwanese traveller reported waiting ten and a half hours, from Saturday evening until Sunday morning, without clear explanation or water or food, before stating she would no longer fly with Thai Airways.
Actress Fon Sananthachat, returning from Osaka in the night of 26 to 27 September, described the same impasse: nearly six hours in the hall, empty water fountains, then a departure without luggage. She said she collected her suitcase about twenty-four hours later after presenting herself at the baggage service with passport and boarding pass.
On Monday, the Minister of Defence, Lieutenant General Adul Boonthamcharoen, announced the deployment of military personnel to clear the backlog. The air force sent 69 staff to reinforce exhausted teams, some of whom had worked consecutive shifts without relief. Passengers unable to wait any longer are invited to register, including by QR code, so that suitcases can be delivered to their hotel or home. Military trucks have also been requested to bring in staff still cut off by the floods.
The airline hoped to begin these deliveries from Monday afternoon. However, the Deputy Minister of Transport, Siripong Angkasakulkiat, estimated it would take around three days after registration, and reminded that Thai Airways must cover costs and damages. Airports of Thailand reserves the right to sanction the airline if shortcomings are established. In the hall, the contrast remains: planes take off, yet the suitcases do not arrive.
Sources : Bangkok Post, Khaosod English