BANGKOK, Thailand – Passengers at Suvarnabhumi Airport are still waiting for missing luggage after a baggage crisis triggered by flooding and ground-handling problems continued into its fourth day on September 29. Thai Airways said 52 flights between September 26 and 27 had baggage left behind, with luggage still being sorted, transported and returned to passengers who had registered claims.
The disruption began after flooding in Bangkok and surrounding areas prevented some Thai Airways ground staff from reaching work. Some baggage transport vehicles also broke down, causing delays to departing flights and leaving arriving passengers waiting much longer than usual for their luggage.
Thai Airways reported 34 delayed flights on September 28 and announced some flight cancellations for September 29–30 due to the continuing impact of flooding in Bangkok and nearby areas.
At the baggage claim area on the afternoon of September 29, both Thai and foreign passengers continued arriving to check on and collect their missing luggage.
Some passengers said they had arrived at Suvarnabhumi on September 26 but found their bags missing from the carousel. They were asked to register their details and wait for the airline to locate and return their luggage. Some were finally expecting to receive their bags after waiting for several days.
The disruption has affected several groups of passengers. Arriving passengers, both Thai and foreign, have reached Bangkok but remain separated from their luggage. Some departing passengers whose flights were cancelled had already had their baggage loaded onto aircraft and later had to return to the airport to retrieve it.
Other passengers arrived at Suvarnabhumi for connecting flights only to find that their onward flights had been cancelled, leaving them waiting for information and assistance from the airline.
Thai Airways said it has deployed additional personnel and resources to accelerate the sorting and transportation of stranded baggage and return it to passengers as quickly as possible.
However, the baggage claim area remained busy on September 29, with passengers continuing to seek information and wait for their belongings following days of flight delays, cancellations and baggage backlogs.
