Tourism and Sports Minister Surasak Phancharoenworakul has called on Thai Airways executives to consider stepping down if they are unwilling to resolve a major baggage backlog at Suvarnabhumi Airport.
He said the disruption was damaging the country’s image and the reputation of the national carrier.
Surasak criticised the airline’s management after inspecting the situation at Suvarnabhumi, where passengers have faced waits of six hours or longer to collect their luggage. He said the crisis was caused mainly by heavy rain and flooding, which prevented many Thai Airways baggage handlers from reaching work and resulted in a large accumulation of baggage.
The minister said the backlog had also had a knock-on effect on flights, as baggage could not be unloaded from arriving aircraft or loaded onto departing flights.
Surasak accused Thai Airways of assigning its limited ground-handling personnel to other airlines with which it has contracts, out of concern that it would have to pay penalties for failing to provide the contracted services.
He said this left Thai Airways with insufficient staff to handle its own passengers’ baggage, worsening the backlog.
He also criticised the airline’s coordination with military personnel sent to help clear the baggage backlog, claiming that they had not been provided with adequate information, food or accommodation.
“Soldiers came to help, but there was not even food for them. There was no accommodation, so they had to return to their units to eat and then come back,” Surasak said.
The minister said the crisis was not simply an operational problem for Thai Airways but had also affected Thailand’s reputation as a tourism destination.
“If you think your term is almost over and you are not going to do anything, I don’t think that’s acceptable. Resign, or consider stepping down quickly so that someone who wants to work can come in and help,” Surasak said.
He also called on the Finance Ministry, Thai Airways’ largest shareholder, to convene an urgent meeting of the airline’s board to discuss measures to resolve the crisis and prevent a recurrence.
Deputy Transport Minister Siripong Angkasakulkiat also called for an urgent Thai Airways board meeting, saying the airline needs to review the causes of the disruption, establish corrective measures and prepare contingency plans.
Siripong said Thai Airways CEO Chai Eamsiri had attributed the crisis mainly to a severe shortage of personnel after flooding affected employees’ homes and prevented many from reporting for work.
He said Thai Airways had sought assistance from several agencies to clear the backlog. Airports of Thailand (AOT) coordinated with the Royal Thai Air Force and Thailand Post to provide additional manpower and help move, sort and deliver delayed baggage.
Siripong said Thai Airways also provides ground-handling services for partner airlines under service-level agreements, adding to the workload during the staffing shortage. He said the airline needs to ensure that its own passengers are properly taken care of.
He said compensation for passengers affected by the delays was the responsibility of Thai Airways, while the Transport Ministry’s role was to oversee regulatory matters.
“If Thai Airways chooses not to take care of its passengers, the impact and business damage will ultimately return to the company itself,” Siripong said.
Thai Airways CEO Chai Eamsiri earlier apologised to passengers and said the airline was working to clear about 5,000 pieces of baggage stranded at Suvarnabhumi. He said the backlog would be cleared within 72 hours.
Chai said the airline had increased manpower, including staff from other parts of the organisation, and sought assistance from government agencies and the military.
Thai Airways has also arranged for delayed baggage to be delivered to passengers’ homes or hotels, while passengers who prefer to collect their luggage themselves can do so after the bags have been sorted.
