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OPINION | by Michael Bridge

Thai airways informed passengers in a press release that a Temporary Change of Check-in Rows at Suvarnabhumi Airport would begin on May 21st.

This was apparently due to the installation of a real-time passenger tracking and counting system by the Airport of Thailand.

Passengers were asked to reconfirm the check-in row of their flight at the flight information display system located on the fourth floor of the departure hall. 

The result which went viral on Facebook was a massive five hundred metre line of passengers all waiting to check in.

This resulted in passengers and their luggage disrupting a large part of the airport’s departure hall.

In some cases, it was taking passengers up to five hours to reach the check-in desk.

The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) has now strongly requested that airlines and airports to make urgent adjustments after acknowledging long queues for Thai Airways flights at Suvarnabhumi airport last week.

CAAT confirmed that early morning flight check-in delays at the Thai Airways counters in Suvarnabhumi Airport were caused by a lack of check-in staff at the Thai Airways counters.

For their part, Thai Airways conceded they were understaffed and that “more staff will now be added.” 

Airline executives rushed to the terminal and were on the scene trying to sort out the delays and keep passengers informed of the situation. 

Executives also stated that no one missed flights because of the check-in mayhem.

It is no secret that Thai Airways is limping along with massive debts and many redundant staff unwilling to return to the company.

This problem sounds familiar 

As Thailand’s borders re-open and travel restrictions continue to be eased, international travel is starting to pick up.

However, the travel and hospitality industry are struggling to meet demand as staff shortages in this sector are at a critical level.

Look at the chaos caused at European airports like London’s Heathrow or at Manchester Airports.

There not only are airlines canceling hundreds of flights each day, but luggage is being left behind due to staff shortages.

With the school holidays around the corner, things could get out of hand.

Unfortunately, there is no quick fix to this problem, as it can take up to 3-6 months to train staff in the tech side of travel.

Longer of course for pilots and cabin crew.

Covid knock-on effect

I suppose this situation was bound to happen as the knock-on effect of the Covid Pandemic took hold.

Most industries were forced to make qualified staff redundant two years ago. 

Many have now found new work in different sectors and are unlikely to want to return to work in the travel industry again.

Recruitment and HR departments are all working overtime but there is no quick fix, unfortunately.

Apart from wanting to return home to see family and friends, the added stress caused by staff shortages could mean you having to fork out for additional hotel nights when your airline is forced to cancel a return flight.

If you must travel back to Europe in the next few months, try to avoid weekend travel and select airlines that have enough options on where to fly to.

Oh, and take a good paperback to read in the check-in lines.

Bon Voyage!

 

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This is what happens when you fire all your staff, who could have predicted this ????

Reconfirming the check inline for your flight is not something passengers should have to do if AOT wants supplementary information on  passengers they should find another way of getting it.

  This is happening all over the world Australian domestic and International terminals are chaotic atm despite airlines pushing for 2 years for things to change and repeatedly stating they would be ready when things would reopen. 

Manila airport is the worst place I have been.  But, this Thai mess looks comparable.

Back to regurgitating last weeks news.

No thanks ... check ins at airport, really discourage me from traveling anywhere outside of Thailand.  Can't think of any place worth visiting, if It takes me about 4 hrs door to aircraft and need to do it twice,  If I was in Krung Thep, which I'm not, so add 4 more hours, one way

 

8 hrs/16 hrs before the two 3-6+ hour uncomfortable flight, and that's somewhere close internationally; Hong Kong/China/Korea maybe.  No desire to see same same but wee bit different any closer (Nam, etc).

Edited June 8, 20224 yr by KhunLA

Some other airlines in BKK do on line check in, you get boarding pass with QR by email or download their application. You submit vaccination certificate by attachment and have an instant confirmation. 

same with returning to thailand. Just thailand pass check at the gate. 
In both cases you can come to airport less than 1h before departure and have some 30 minutes for security and immigration. 
 

as to thai airways - I would not fly with them anymore. Too risky with their reduced routes, schedules and poor customer care.

They dont offer free covid flexibility with re-booking, as some the other airlines. 

From what I gather they closed down all the lounges at BKK at terminal C and E, possibly only one open is for the 1st class

Edited June 9, 20224 yr by internationalism

4 hours ago, webfact said:

For their part, Thai Airways conceded they were understaffed and that “more staff will now be added.” 
Airline executives rushed to the terminal and were on the scene trying to sort out the delays and keep passengers informed of the situation. 

Somehow I doubt that these executives started to check-in passengers themselves...

16 minutes ago, internationalism said:

Some other airlines in BKK do on line check in, you get boarding pass with QR by email or download their application. You submit vaccination certificate by attachment and have an instant confirmation. 

same with returning to thailand. Just thailand pass check at the gate. 
In both cases you can come to airport less than 1h before departure and have some 30 minutes for security and immigration. 
 

as to thai airways - I would not fly with them anymore. Too risky with their reduced routes, schedules and poor customer care.

They dont offer free and automatic covid flexibility with re-booking. 

From what I gather they closed down all the lounges at BKK at terminal C and E, possibly only one open is for the 1st class

Unfortunately, you can't plan anything like that.  As the departure hall may be back up with large Qs, or the security point, as I have in the past, waiting in Q at security for 1+ hr, and that was between the check in counter to the gate.

 

I've been checked in online, and still had to wait in line at the counter if having luggage.  Hard to travel internationally for a few weeks out of a backpack.   And now, 1 small bag limits for carry on.

 

They recommend allowing 3 hrs for int'l travel for a reason.  And then imm on arrival to anywhere, possible another hour.  No thanks. 

 

Not after travelling for 20 yrs and showing up 30 minutes before the flight at the gate, bypassing security, when working for the airlines ????  Write my own ticket, check myself in, and chill out in First Class with drink before take off.

 

3 hrs of hassle to get kicked to the back of the bus ... Y'all are crazy.  All before the flight of how many hours in the sardine can.

 

Been 16 & 19 years since on an int'l flight (USA), and what a sh!t show they were.  Never again.  One of the only 2X I didn't fly as an employee in 22 yrs.

Edited June 9, 20224 yr by KhunLA

Any up-to-date information. I am flying to Dubai on Saturday morning with Emirates, which seems to be taking off early most days. Cheers.

13 minutes ago, internationalism said:

Some other airlines in BKK do on line check in, you get boarding pass with QR by email or download their application. You submit vaccination certificate by attachment and have an instant confirmation. 

same with returning to thailand. Just thailand pass check at the gate. 
In both cases you can come to airport less than 1h before departure and have some 30 minutes for security and immigration. 
 

as to thai airways - I would not fly with them anymore. Too risky with their reduced routes, schedules and poor customer care.

They dont offer free covid flexibility with re-booking, as some the other airlines. 

From what I gather they closed down all the lounges at BKK at terminal C and E, possibly only one open is for the 1st class

Absolute rubbish. All the Thai airways lounges are open as are their checkin counters. Unless you are talking about almost all of the airline lounges that were closed by all airlines during covid. Or were open with very limited facilities.

3 hours ago, ukrules said:

This is what happens when you fire all your staff, who could have predicted this ????

Yes laying off staff and not removing executives is an issue, especially for a company currently in Re-org due to bankruptcy.....

1 hour ago, starky said:

This is happening all over the world Australian domestic and International terminals are chaotic

I read about chaos in UK.

Cancelled flights . Stranded passengers abroad.

Planes that can not be filled due to lack of staff.

Plane taking off without passengers to make it to destination before airport closes.

Etc etc

Edited June 9, 20224 yr by KhunBENQ

35 minutes ago, starky said:

Absolute rubbish. All the Thai airways lounges are open as are their checkin counters. Unless you are talking about almost all of the airline lounges that were closed by all airlines during covid. Or were open with very limited facilities.

International flights are sent to H row last week, somewhere to the middle right (where the left is the original Thai airways, domestic, 1st, anyone worked for Thai or contractors in last 6 generations of family or last 50 years, military personnel their friends and family and distant relatives, monks and trainee monks, friends of powerful people check-in) - this is a departure from previous arrangements. Miracle lounge near F was open and operating as normal, didn't see the other lounges. 

 

So there are significant changes and in addition online check-in is was not available (booked direct with Thai, no entry requirements, still not available).

 

Edited June 9, 20224 yr by mnomad

KLM is flying some planes empty (no pax) to Schiphol Amsterdam.

This is a great solution to the overcrowding problems they have at the airport. ????

1 hour ago, KhunBENQ said:

I read about chaos in UK.

Cancelled flights . Stranded passengers abroad.

Planes that can not be filled due to lack of staff.

Plane taking off without passengers to make it to destination before airport closes.

Etc etc

Yes, things are a mess over there, add cancer treatment and medical staff shortages to the list, with fuel just having gone up 2p. Food shortages coming.

Not so bad here, but some will boo-hoo as they have to wear a mask in the Mall.  

1 hour ago, mnomad said:

International flights are sent to H row last week, somewhere to the middle right (where the left is the original Thai airways, domestic, 1st, anyone worked for Thai or contractors in last 6 generations of family or last 50 years, military personnel their friends and family and distant relatives, monks and trainee monks, friends of powerful people check-in) - this is a departure from previous arrangements. Miracle lounge near F was open and operating as normal, didn't see the other lounges. 

 

So there are significant changes and in addition online check-in is was not available (booked direct with Thai, no entry requirements, still not available).

 

Oh im Gold and fly business so no change for me. Still check in at ROP counter unless its changed in the last 2 weeks. And thai smile was as normal when i Checked into my Udon flight on Monday. All the lounges have been open except for the spa as massages werent avilable during covid for obvious reasons.

Just seen another article about Lufthansa/Eurowings cancelling more than a thousand flights in July.

Giving hints how to avoid chaos at checkin etc

7 hours ago, webfact said:

Airline executives rushed to the terminal and were on the scene trying to sort out the delays and keep passengers informed of the situation. 

''Yeah, the situation is this, you're at the back of the queue and going to be here for a long time.

 

Thank you for choosing Thai Airways, don't forget to like us on our facebook page"

3 hours ago, starky said:

Absolute rubbish. All the Thai airways lounges are open as are their checkin counters. Unless you are talking about almost all of the airline lounges that were closed by all airlines during covid. Or were open with very limited facilities.

Certainly lounges at terminal E were closed till April. 
Also just recently closed at terminal C. Albeit I was running this corridor to catch my plane and not concentrating on lounges. 
I never knew about Miracle at the F, as I have never departed from this gates. 
They are irrelevant as I dont plan flying with them. 
Certainly they have chance to cut check in lines by online. 
 

according to this website 4 lounges (out of 5) are temporarily closed. 
https://www.loungebuddy.com/BKK/miracle-first-class-lounge-temporarily-closed-concourse-d-ABB6mZ9zRy

Edited June 9, 20224 yr by internationalism

Bkk Airport was certainly very very busy yesterday when i arrived on a domestic flight.

1 hour ago, internationalism said:

Certainly lounges at terminal E were closed till April. 
Also just recently closed at terminal C. Albeit I was running this corridor to catch my plane and not concentrating on lounges. 
I never knew about Miracle at the F, as I have never departed from this gates. 
They are irrelevant as I dont plan flying with them. 
Certainly they have chance to cut check in lines by online. 
 

according to this website 4 lounges (out of 5) are temporarily closed. 
https://www.loungebuddy.com/BKK/miracle-first-class-lounge-temporarily-closed-concourse-d-ABB6mZ9zRy

Well as someone that flies Thai airways frequently, the other bloke doesnt fly with them at all so i dont know why he would even argue the toss and you were in a hurry. I can say I flew out late may and will be flying out again this Monday. The Thai airways lounge behind fast track was open and the two lounges down at the international concourse were both open though I know depending on numbers sometimes they will close one. The spa im pretty sure was closed and may well be mainly due to Thailand's reluctance to accept covid has past us by. The other one is first class which I assume was open so to my count that would be 4 of the 5. The miracle lounges I don't mess with but I get access to other lounges through my amex and some of them still haven't reopened. The platinum lounge in Sydney only opened last week!

 I dont know if miracle lounges are even relevant to what I'm discussing I was talking about the Thai Airways ROP lounges. Long story short I don't run off websites. I look at what's available on the day. And to my knowledge on all my recent trips they were open. As I visit at least 2 if not 3 (when the spa is open) whenever I travel. Individual results may vary. ????

Edited June 9, 20224 yr by starky

I don't think most of you realize what a crappy job an airline ground handling job is.

 

They, the airlines and the third parties they use laid off thousands during the pandemic, and now the chickens come home to roost

 

It's a job where you get paid <deleted> money, leave a secure door open accidentally and you are liable to a $13K fine (in the US),  have to deal with just obnoxious passengers. "I need to get out of here, well madame I'm sure you realize there is a blizzard outside, F*u***c*k you get me on that plane I need to be in xxxx by tonight".

 

Trying to get folks hired is a nightmare. Security clearance for folks working in sterile areas takes weeks, yet you can get hired by the local supermarket for the same pay in a couple of days.

Honestly - air travel is very frustrating right now wherever in the world that you are travelling.  It is hardly worth it.  There have been a few warnings from travel experts about the impending travel mayhem.  The biggest thing that you will find once you get to your destination in other countries is lack of rental cars and sky high prices in the unlikely event you can even find one.  

 

3 hours ago, GinBoy2 said:

I don't think most of you realize what a crappy job an airline ground handling job is.

 

They, the airlines and the third parties they use laid off thousands during the pandemic, and now the chickens come home to roost

 

It's a job where you get paid <deleted> money, leave a secure door open accidentally and you are liable to a $13K fine (in the US),  have to deal with just obnoxious passengers. "I need to get out of here, well madame I'm sure you realize there is a blizzard outside, F*u***c*k you get me on that plane I need to be in xxxx by tonight".

 

Trying to get folks hired is a nightmare. Security clearance for folks working in sterile areas takes weeks, yet you can get hired by the local supermarket for the same pay in a couple of days.

People are jerks.  I know because we've all been jerks ourselves.  Well, at least I have... 

That sounds like a really horrible job.  

12 hours ago, internationalism said:

Some other airlines in BKK do on line check in, you get boarding pass with QR by email or download their application. You submit vaccination certificate by attachment and have an instant confirmation. 

Just did on-line check in for Emirates on Saturday morning. e-pass not available, must go to check in desk. What a load of bo44ox.

Quote

In some cases, it was taking passengers up to five hours to reach the check-in desk.

They should have a maximum waiting time. If exceeded there should be compensation !!!

online airline check in (with hold baggage check in only at desk).

never been permitted here. 

17 hours ago, ukrules said:

This is what happens when you fire all your staff, who could have predicted this ????

Certainly  not British  Airways or Manchester  Aiport. 100s of flights cancelled and people waiting 18 hours to get bags.

9 hours ago, Blumpie said:

People are jerks.  I know because we've all been jerks ourselves.  Well, at least I have... 

That sounds like a really horrible job.  

Well it is a crappy job.

 

Many of us do it because we enjoy dicking around with airplanes, but we don't do it for the money, and most certainly not for the 'joy' of dealing with passengers!

 

I'm a Ramp Supervisor, and two days ago I had an A320 on the ground with an E175 2 minutes behind it. There was me and 2 ramp agents trying to bring the aircraft in, unload it and get ready to re-load, which we're given 45 mins for the Airbus and 29 minutes for the Embrarer to get them both turned around and ready to fly

 

I'm the one dropping the bags, I then get physically assaulted by a guy who complained that his bags had taken too long to get delivered to claim.

 

Took all my willpower not to frikkin punch the guy.

 

The Above Wing agents checking in these as**sholes suffer the same kind of verbal and physical abuse