BANGKOK, Thailand — Flooding disrupted the journey of Thai national athletes heading to the 2026 Asian Games in Nagoya, Japan, leaving wrestlers, golfers and rugby players stranded at Suvarnabhumi Airport for more than eight hours. The athletes and team officials were scheduled to fly to Japan on Thai Airways flight TG644 at 12:05 a.m. on September 27. However, the flight was delayed after baggage-handling staff were unable to report for duty because of the flooding.
The athletes’ luggage and sporting equipment could not be loaded onto the aircraft as scheduled. Leaving without the equipment would have meant the team’s baggage would not travel with them.
Thai national rugby coach Thanwit Kruasins said the delay affected both the men’s and women’s rugby teams, as well as athletes from other sports booked on the same flight.
At 6:40 a.m., passengers and athletes were still waiting at the gate, more than six hours after the scheduled departure time. The airline had initially told passengers the flight would be delayed indefinitely. Thanwit said the teams understood the circumstances and hoped the flooding would ease quickly so baggage-handling staff could return to work. Flight TG644 eventually departed at 8 a.m. on September 27, allowing the Thai athletes and other passengers to continue their journey to Japan after the lengthy delay.
