Last Friday’s Thai Airways aircraft check-in chaos

The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) has encouraged airlines and airports to make rapid improvements after witnessing long lineups for Thai Airways flights at Suvarnabhumi airport.


Early morning check-in delays at Thai Airways counters in Suvarnabhumi According to tourism experts, inbound travel is projected to increase in the following weeks. Thailand received 293,350 international visitors in April, up 39% from March. Tourists account for 60-70 percent of all travels, according to estimates. The airport was closed due to a scarcity of check-in staff at Thai Airways stations, according to Thailand’s Civil Aviation Authority.

Airlines executives were on the scene, attempting to resolve the issues and issuing consumer warnings. They further claim that no one was delayed or missed a flight as a result of the turmoil at check-in. As Thailand’s borders reopen and travel restrictions continue to be loosened, international travel is beginning to pick up, albeit slowly. Since the April tourist boom, which included a considerable easing of rules on April 1 (removing all vaccine testing for vaccinated passengers), Songkran, and a long weekend, domestic tourism has remained stable. Thai Airways, for example, acknowledged that it was understaffed and promised to hire “additional people as soon as possible.”

Since April, domestic travel has been leveling off, while international arrivals have gradually grown. All domestic airlines continue to operate on a severely constrained destination and flight frequency schedule. The three Thai airlines that have gone bankrupt or are going to go bankrupt are Thai Airways, Nok Air, and Thai Air Asia X. Passengers on domestic Thai flights are still required to wear masks at all times, maintain a social distance at the airport (though this appears to be unimportant on the planes), and there are no dining options.