Suvarnabhumi Airport Clarifies Situation After Passengers Secretly Bring 'Rats' on Board

[webfact]

 

Suvarnabhumi Airport authorities clarified an incident where passengers secretly brought rats on board a Thai Vietjet flight to Taiwan, an act that was revealed via social media. The incident occurred on October 4, 2023, at 15:32 local time when two foreign passengers managed to pass the security checks with the animals undetected.

 

The airport, after a thorough investigation involving CCTV footages and staff statements, identified a lapse in the security protocol. The passengers had brought a bag through the X-ray scanner around 13:45, raising suspicions among security staff. However, a failure to follow up and inspect the suspicious bag allowed the passengers to board the flight with the prohibited animals, reported Naew Na..

 

Suvarnabhumi Airport emphasizes that their security technology and measures adhere to international standards, designed to detect prohibited items effectively. In this case, the oversight resulted from a personnel error. Immediate action was taken; the staff involved were suspended pending a thorough investigation. If found neglecting standard procedures, strict legal actions will be enforced.

 

The airport strongly advises all travellers, both Thai and international, against smuggling animals or animal remains in and out of the country. Those wishing to travel with pets are urged to seek proper permission to avoid legal repercussions, ensuring the safety and legal compliance of all passengers.

 

-- ASEAN NOW 2023-10-06

 

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[2baht]

8 minutes ago, webfact said:

Immediate action was taken; the staff involved were suspended

Like a rat up a drainpipe! 

[AhFarangJa]

Was it Manuel with his pet Siberian hamster.

[Skipalongcassidy]

Organization is not a Thai forte... they insist on inventing their own wheel instead of learning from others... it's a cultural process and hopefully not too many people die in the meantime.

[Jeff the Chef]

 

2 minutes ago, AhFarangJa said:

Was it Manuel with his pet Siberian hamster.

Beat me to it ????

 

It's not a rat Mr Fawlty, it's a Siberian Hamster

[norfolkandchance]

Perhaps they wanted Emotional Support Animals to accompany them back home and then eat them.

[Deserted]

The dirty rats.

[edwinchester]

"raising suspicions among security staff" seems to translate to doing <deleted> all in this case.

[webfact]

Couldn’t give a rats: Chinese passengers smuggle animals onboard Bangkok-Taipei flight
by Petch Petpailin

 

Photo via Facebook/ เที่ยวทุกที่ Boarding Pass

 

Thailand’s VietJet Air found itself in a ‘wild’ situation when some Chinese passengers, who did not give a rats, attempted to smuggle a menagerie of animals onto a flight from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport to Tao Yuan International Airport in Taipei, Taiwan.

 

The covert cargo included a white rat, an otter, snakes, and various other critters, which the flight attendants did not disclose.

 

Onboard the intriguing journey was a Thai man named Surasit Leelaprachakun, who later recounted the bizarre events on the Facebook page ‘Tiaw Took Tee Boarding Pass’ (เที่ยวทุกที่ Boarding Pass). According to Surasit, the flight was scheduled to take off at 3.15pm yesterday October 4 and began without any apparent issues.

 

However, the smooth ride took an unexpected turn when one of Surasit’s companions noticed a white rat scurrying beneath the passenger seats. This particular rodent was no ordinary rat, its pristine and clean appearance left no doubt that it was someone’s pampered pet.

Surasit promptly alerted the flight attendants, who were taken aback by the surprise intruder. The cabin crew launched a search operation and eventually cornered the elusive rat.

 

Full story: The Thaiger 2023-10-06

 

- Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

 

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[JoePai]

They needed a snack when they landed at Taipei

[ravip]

The cabin crew launched a search operation and eventually cornered the elusive rat.

 

What duties the cabin crew has to experience!

[freeworld]

Poor animals. Through no fault of their own now probably destined to be put down.

[Geoffggi]

Contact UB40 ..................LOL

 

[webfact]

Baggage blunder: 25 more animals smuggled onboard, Thai airport officer suspended
by Petch Petpailin

 

Photo via Facebook/ เที่ยวทุกที่ Boarding Pass and กรมอุทยานแห่งชาติ สัตว์ป่า และพันธุ์พืช

 

Suvarnabhumi International Airport admitted that its baggage screening officer allowed two foreigners to smuggle animals onto a flight from Bangkok to Taipei. The airport reported it had already suspended the reckless officer after 25 more smuggled animals were discovered onboard the same flight.

 

A Thai passenger on a flight from Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport to Tao Yuan International Airport in Taipei, Taiwan, revealed to the public on October 3 that Chinese passengers had smuggled several animals onboard, including a rat, an otter and snakes. The animals later escaped from a bag and strolled around the cabin floor shocking passengers onboard the flight.

 

The passenger, as well as netizens, questioned authorities at a baggage checkpoint at Suvarnabhumi Airport about how the Chinese passengers and animals managed to evade officials.

 

Full story: The Thaiger 2023-10-06

 

- Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here.

 

Get our Daily Newsletter - Click HERE to subscribe

[Mr Meeseeks]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

The covert cargo included a white rat, an otter, snakes, and various other critters, which the flight attendants did not disclose.

Where did they buy them? JJ Market?

[Mr Meeseeks]

There was a live crab on the baggage carousel at DMK airport yesterday too.

 

There will be a LOT more of this stuff now that the Chinese do not need visas to enter.

[scorecard]

5 hours ago, Skipalongcassidy said:

Organization is not a Thai forte... they insist on inventing their own wheel instead of learning from others... it's a cultural process and hopefully not too many people die in the meantime.

I recall several incidents at the final check before boarding at Suv. airport, one local budget carrier. Foreigners asked why many people were not being checked (passport photo and name compared to name on boarding pass). 

 

Response was 'they are Thai people so no need to check'.  On one occasion one foreigner insisted that answer was not acceptable and insisted on a supervisor from the airline come to the gate. 

 

Foreigner said to supvr., 'is it not possible that the Thai person not being checked is a con-man, a thief escaping to another country, a terrorist etc?'

 

Supervisor inisted 'not possible' and called the police. 

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

1 hour ago, webfact said:

The airport reported it had already suspended the reckless officer after 25 more smuggled animals were discovered onboard the same flight.

Good job guys!!!!  Always on the ball, tip top security Thailand style.

 

"The covert cargo included a white rat, an otter, snakes, and various other critters..."

 

How exactly does anyone miss ALL THAT going thru luggage screening???

 

 

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Suvarnabhumi Airport Clarifies Situation After Passengers Secretly Bring A Veritable Zoo on Board

[mokwit]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

The covert cargo included a white rat, an otter, snakes, and various other critters,

One assumes their ultimate fate was to be eaten rather than kept as beloved pets.

[Bangkok Barry]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

The airport, after a thorough investigation involving CCTV footages and staff statements, identified a lapse in the security protocol.

Wouldn't have happened at DM airport.

Ok, security is necessary these days. It wasn't when I was younger, but the world is going backwards and we have to live with it.

On Monday I flew to Bangkok for one night to see a colleague who was visiting. I took toothpaste in my carry-on. No problem at my local airport. But when I flew out of Bangkok my toothpaste had suddenly become a security threat. 150ml size toothpaste, only 100 allowed. The fact that it was 3/4 empty and therefore was far short of 100 and even further short of 150 was irrelevant. Taking that into account would have required common sense, which is entirely absent in Thailand. So, on the way home from the airport I had to buy new toothpaste, no doubt another that I could fly TO Bangkok with but not FROM Bangkok with.

On the same day that my toothpaste was deemed (but only in Bangkok) to be a threat to public safety a kid was able to walk into a shopping mall in the city and shoot people dead. Good thing he wasn't carrying toothpaste or he'd have been in real trouble.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

10 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

But when I flew out of Bangkok my toothpaste had suddenly become a security threat. 150ml size toothpaste, only 100 allowed. The fact that it was 3/4 empty and therefore was far short of 100 and even further short of 150 was irrelevant.

Had the same exact thing happen at DM a few months back.... A half empty tube of Bengay muscle cream (113g / 4 oz when full) forced to throw out.

 

[Bangkok Barry]

12 minutes ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Had the same exact thing happen at DM a few months back.... A half empty tube of Bengay muscle cream (113g / 4 oz when full) forced to throw out.

 

What made me angry was that I was well inside their limit, but the TUBE said 150 so it was a security threat despite being almost empty. I struggle to deal with the brain-deads here. I thought of asking for the tube and then emptying it over their counter, but I would probably have been arrested.

 

My greatest 'indiscretion' though was to try and take a pack of mints onto a plane in the US. The x-ray machine alerted security to my outrageous behaviour as it was unable to tell the difference between explosives and silver paper. That's about the same time as I began thinking the US was not a place I wanted to visit anymore. I have a very low tolerance for stupidity.

[brianthainess]

3 hours ago, Geoffggi said:

Contact UB40 ..................LOL

 

For ages I thought they were singing "I'm going to cook that rat" not catch. 

[hotchilli]

7 hours ago, webfact said:

The airport, after a thorough investigation involving CCTV footages and staff statements, identified a lapse in the security protocol. The passengers had brought a bag through the X-ray scanner around 13:45, raising suspicions among security staff. However, a failure to follow up and inspect the suspicious bag allowed the passengers to board the flight with the prohibited animals

A tad embarrassing.

[klauskunkel]

2 hours ago, webfact said:

The airport reported it had already suspended the reckless officer

If corruption becomes recklessness, then a corrupt official could be called an adventurer

[brianthainess]

Beats airline meals I suppose,   

[Montnoveau]

8 hours ago, Jeff the Chef said:

 

Beat me to it ????

 

It's not a rat Mr Fawlty, it's a Siberian Hamster

Major: Don't move! Vermin.

Major: Goin' to shoot him, Fawlty.

Basil: Not- not legal actually, any more, murder. (thinks the Major is talking about Germans)

Major: But they're animals, Fawlty!

Basil: Oh, yes, yes. Still, forgive and forget, eh?

Major: Forgive 'em?

Basil: Well, pretend we do.

[bizboi]

6 hours ago, JoePai said:

They needed a snack when they landed at Taipei

Beat me to it! Or they are trying to poison the Taiwanese population prior to Xi’s Invasion 

[jvs]

2 hours ago, TallGuyJohninBKK said:

Good job guys!!!!  Always on the ball, tip top security Thailand style.

 

"The covert cargo included a white rat, an otter, snakes, and various other critters..."

 

How exactly does anyone miss ALL THAT going thru luggage screening???

 

 

a small brown envelope?