Travel Bangkok Airport Chaos: Aussies Fume Over Qantas Passport Demand

[snoop1130]

Screenshots from @ ramyatheaussie TikTok video

 

A group of Australian travellers found themselves in a bind at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport after their Qantas flight to Sydney was suddenly cancelled. Initially delayed for six hours, the flight was called off late Monday night, July 21, leaving passengers uncertain and weary.

 

Amid the confusion, a video surfaced showing a cardboard box on the terminal floor, filled with Australian passports. Stranded passengers surrounded it, while airport staff completed paperwork similarly seated on the ground.

 

 

Adding to their woes, passengers said they were required to surrender their passports to leave the airport for hotel accommodation arranged by Qantas. The unusual request sparked alarm online, with many questioning its validity.

 

A Qantas spokesperson clarified, "Local border authorities require passengers’ passports during significant delays as part of immigration regulations." Qantas stressed that this demand wasn’t part of their usual policy, but rather a necessity imposed by Thai immigration.

 

The situation ignited a flurry of incredulous reactions on social media. "Is it normal to take away your passports? Never heard of such a thing!" exclaimed one user. Another added, "I would never let them take my passport; that's not standard practice."

 

 

Qantas has since apologised for the turmoil. "We sincerely apologise for the disruption and understand the inconvenience caused," the spokesperson said. The airline assured all passengers have now safely arrived in Sydney, offering some relief.

 

Despite the resolution, the incident has left many uneasy and questioning the rules that led to this scenario. The viral footage remains a talking point, casting a spotlight on airport protocols during unexpected delays.

 

 

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Bangkok International Airport for additional comment on the matter, as travellers and observers alike seek further clarity.

 

In the world of aviation travel, where every minute counts and passport security is paramount, this incident raises important questions about balancing procedure and passenger peace of mind.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from The Thaiger 2025-07-23

 

 

[newbee2022]

5 minutes ago, snoop1130 said:

Screenshots from @ ramyatheaussie TikTok video

 

A group of Australian travellers found themselves in a bind at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport after their Qantas flight to Sydney was suddenly cancelled. Initially delayed for six hours, the flight was called off late Monday night, July 21, leaving passengers uncertain and weary.

 

Amid the confusion, a video surfaced showing a cardboard box on the terminal floor, filled with Australian passports. Stranded passengers surrounded it, while airport staff completed paperwork similarly seated on the ground.

 

 

Adding to their woes, passengers said they were required to surrender their passports to leave the airport for hotel accommodation arranged by Qantas. The unusual request sparked alarm online, with many questioning its validity.

 

A Qantas spokesperson clarified, "Local border authorities require passengers’ passports during significant delays as part of immigration regulations." Qantas stressed that this demand wasn’t part of their usual policy, but rather a necessity imposed by Thai immigration.

 

The situation ignited a flurry of incredulous reactions on social media. "Is it normal to take away your passports? Never heard of such a thing!" exclaimed one user. Another added, "I would never let them take my passport; that's not standard practice."

 

 

Qantas has since apologised for the turmoil. "We sincerely apologise for the disruption and understand the inconvenience caused," the spokesperson said. The airline assured all passengers have now safely arrived in Sydney, offering some relief.

 

Despite the resolution, the incident has left many uneasy and questioning the rules that led to this scenario. The viral footage remains a talking point, casting a spotlight on airport protocols during unexpected delays.

 

 

Daily Mail Australia has reached out to Bangkok International Airport for additional comment on the matter, as travellers and observers alike seek further clarity.

 

In the world of aviation travel, where every minute counts and passport security is paramount, this incident raises important questions about balancing procedure and passenger peace of mind.

 

  Adapted by ASEAN Now from The Thaiger 2025-07-23

 

 

I can understand that they were disappointed or angry.

But those officers in BKK were not responsible for the delay.

Finally they got good accomodations, good food and were treated well, apart from the fact of the delayed flight and the passports in the hands of the airline.

So what?

[KhunBENQ]

To me this sounds like they had already cleared immigration (stamped out) and were "airside"?

And now been sent back to a hotel outside the premises bypassing immigration.

That would then make some sense to me...

[Will B Good]

Missed my Emirates connecting flight a couple of weeks ago.......faced with a 12 hour delay from 9am to 9pm.

 

Bussed straight away to a very nice hotel (10mins), massive room, free food and soft drinks. Bussed back 6pm.

 

I think it might have even been run/managed by Emirates. All very professional.

[ikke1959]

In my passport is stated that it is a state property and is not allowed to give others...So immigration can never claim to hand over your passport for whatever reason and not only immigration but also rentals, hotels, or anyone else.. State property.... 

[Lucky Bones]

3 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

In my passport is stated that it is a state property and is not allowed to give others...So immigration can never claim to hand over your passport for whatever reason and not only immigration but also rentals, hotels, or anyone else.. State property.... 

Duh.🙃🙃

[ikke1959]

2 minutes ago, Lucky Bones said:

Duh.🙃🙃

, it is generally not allowed to give your passport to someone else. A passport is a personal identification document that belongs to the issuing government, not the individual, and is not transferable. Lending or giving your passport to someone else can lead to legal issues and potential misuse of the document. 

 

Why it's not allowed:

• Personal Identification:

  Passports are specifically issued to an individual and contain their personal information, photo, and other identifying details. 

   
• Government Property:

  Passports are the property of the issuing government and are not transferable. 

   
• Potential for Misuse:

  Allowing someone else to use your passport can lead to identity theft, fraud, and other criminal activities. 

   

Consequences of giving your passport to someone else:

• Legal Penalties:

  You could face fines, imprisonment, or other penalties for misuse of a passport.
• Criminal Charges:

  If the passport is used for illegal activities like fraud or drug trafficking, you could face serious criminal charges. 

   

What to do instead:

• If someone needs to prove their identity, they should use their own passport or other valid identification. 
   
• If you need to share information from your passport, such as a passport number, make sure you are sharing it with a trusted organization or individual and understand the risks. 
   
• If you are traveling with someone else's passport, even if you intend to return it, you could face legal issues. 

[baansgr]

13 hours ago, newbee2022 said:

I can understand that they were disappointed or angry.

But those officers in BKK were not responsible for the delay.

Finally they got good accomodations, good food and were treated well, apart from the fact of the delayed flight and the passports in the hands of the airline.

So what?

Probably all whinging £10 poms 😁 

[newbee2022]

6 minutes ago, baansgr said:

Probably all whinging £10 poms 😁 

Yeah, according to the photo. You're right😂

[Lucky Bones]

45 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

, it is generally not allowed to give your passport to someone else. A passport is a personal identification document that belongs to the issuing government, not the individual, and is not transferable. Lending or giving your passport to someone else can lead to legal issues and potential misuse of the document. 

 

Why it's not allowed:

• Personal Identification:

  Passports are specifically issued to an individual and contain their personal information, photo, and other identifying details. 

   
• Government Property:

  Passports are the property of the issuing government and are not transferable. 

   
• Potential for Misuse:

  Allowing someone else to use your passport can lead to identity theft, fraud, and other criminal activities. 

   

Consequences of giving your passport to someone else:

• Legal Penalties:

  You could face fines, imprisonment, or other penalties for misuse of a passport.
• Criminal Charges:

  If the passport is used for illegal activities like fraud or drug trafficking, you could face serious criminal charges. 

   

What to do instead:

• If someone needs to prove their identity, they should use their own passport or other valid identification. 
   
• If you need to share information from your passport, such as a passport number, make sure you are sharing it with a trusted organization or individual and understand the risks. 
   
• If you are traveling with someone else's passport, even if you intend to return it, you could face legal issues. 

Double Duh!🙃🙃

[JoePai]

1 hour ago, baansgr said:

Probably all whinging £10 poms 😁 

Just the usual Aussies returning home 

[Olmate]

1 hour ago, baansgr said:

Probably all whinging £10 poms 😁 

All shagged out of them now, thank god, by real bogan breeders, with some fine first nations input as well! 😂

[rwill]

Did they stick them in those tubes down in the basement?

[Deerculler]

2 hours ago, baansgr said:

Probably all whinging £10 poms 😁 

More likely loud mouth whinging Aussies.

[FritsSikkink]

2 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

.So immigration can never claim to hand over your passport for whatever reason 

Then they just refuse you entry and blacklist you.

[boloaf]

1 hour ago, Olmate said:

All shagged out of them now, thank god, by real bogan breeders, with some fine first nations input as well! 😂

 

2 hours ago, baansgr said:

Probably all whinging £10 poms 😁 

I loved the time I spent in Australia working on a two year contract, but I did pick up on two things. Most Aussies knew nothing about cricket and never stopped whinging. 

[sungod]

2 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

In my passport is stated that it is a state property and is not allowed to give others...So immigration can never claim to hand over your passport for whatever reason and not only immigration but also rentals, hotels, or anyone else.. State property.... 

Mine asks that I pass freely without hindrance, be rendered assistance and protection...

 

I'm still not going to Iran on it......... 🙂

[blaze master]

2 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

In my passport is stated that it is a state property and is not allowed to give others...So immigration can never claim to hand over your passport for whatever reason and not only immigration but also rentals, hotels, or anyone else.. State property.... 

 

My dad had his passport copied a number of years back in Bangkok. He gave it to immigration who took it away and came back. Then sometime after in a different airport he was questioned as to why he had made some trips to Afghanistan. 

 

True story. 

[hotchilli]

I guess Thai immigration believe if they have your passport they have control over the passenger.

[Mattd]

15 hours ago, KhunBENQ said:

To me this sounds like they had already cleared immigration (stamped out) and were "airside"?

And now been sent back to a hotel outside the premises bypassing immigration.

That would then make some sense to me...

Yeah, this is most likely the reason, although it did happen to me a few years back and we were directed to go back through immigration to stamp back into Thailand before being taken to a hotel, guess it depends on the day!

[KhunLA]

Don't what they are crying about, as it saved them the hassle of stamping out & in again.

 

You can't fix stupid, as some folks just love to complain.

[mancub]

Typical Thai immigration pointless overkill reaction. All the passangers details. including boarding cards, were entered in their system. The people were leaving Thailand not entering illegally or trying to ovrerstay.

[Dan O]

16 hours ago, newbee2022 said:

I can understand that they were disappointed or angry.

But those officers in BKK were not responsible for the delay.

Finally they got good accomodations, good food and were treated well, apart from the fact of the delayed flight and the passports in the hands of the airline.

So what?

This happened to me on a flight on an airline coming out of Vietnam years ago. The airport closed officialyl at midnight and our plane was on the runway and had mechanical problems and had to go back to the gate but there were no personnel as the airport had closed. Just radar tower staff. When imm finally came back they were faced with the same issue.  It took hours of arguing but they finally just stamped the exit stamp as cancelled and a new entry stamp valid for 1 day. We were also finally taken to a hotel and an imm officer stood at the door and no one could leave the hotel until the bus came to take us back to the airport. 

[Patong2021]

I do not fully accept Qantas version of the story. Qantas is responsible for all the passengers if they overstay, and that means the fines and penalties. Thailand has a sliding scale of penalties, so the cost of a missing passenger could have been expensive.I have a feeling someone went along with a stupid suggestion from an immigration officer.

 

This is not the usual procedure. Perhaps immigration did not want to process them in as a group, or someone thought this would simplify the management. Whoever did this should be reprimanded. As was stated above, the standard procedure is to stamp the passenger back in, and if need be, using the transit stamp allowing for a 24 hour stay. The passenger, unless a criminal or subject to deportation should retain control of the passport at all times.  I wonder why passengers did not refuse and instead tell the airline they would go to the Hyatt or one of the many nearby hotels and sleep there.  The airline was liable for the costs.

 

 

[Lucky Bones]

43 minutes ago, boloaf said:

 

I loved the time I spent in Australia working on a two year contract, but I did pick up on two things. Most Aussies knew nothing about cricket and never stopped whinging. 

You should have got outside of Melbourne.🙃🙃

[Jethro Tull]

Many years ago.

I had checked in, and was airside, for a flight from Jeddah to Heathrow when the flight was cancelled and an estimated 12 hours delay was announced.

We were given the option to surrender our passport so we could return to Jeddah to spend the night in a nice hotel or spend 12 hours at the gate on those plastic chairs.

 

Lots of opposition to handing over their passports but in the end around 50% took the hotel option.

Seemed like a good decision and while there were a lot of angry voices about handing over their passport they were given a choice.

[goatfarmer]

29 minutes ago, hotchilli said:

I guess Thai immigration believe if they have your passport they have control over the passenger.

Yes. It sounds like a shortcut instead of stamping them out and stamping them back in again, however with the digital passport scanners, that should not be a big deal.

[newbee2022]

16 minutes ago, Dan O said:

This happened to me on a flight on an airline coming out of Vietnam years ago. The airport closed officialyl at midnight and our plane was on the runway and had mechanical problems and had to go back to the gate but there were no personnel as the airport had closed. Just radar tower staff. When imm finally came back they were faced with the same issue.  It took hours of arguing but they finally just stamped the exit stamp as cancelled and a new entry stamp valid for 1 day. We were also finally taken to a hotel and an imm officer stood at the door and no one could leave the hotel until the bus came to take us back to the airport. 

Happened to me in Moskow. At the end we got a hotel and loads of vouchers for food and drinks. 

Shouting or arguing can't provide a plan, isn't it?

[wavodavo]

16 hours ago, newbee2022 said:

I can understand that they were disappointed or angry.

But those officers in BKK were not responsible for the delay.

Finally they got good accomodations, good food and were treated well, apart from the fact of the delayed flight and the passports in the hands of the airline.

So what?

My question is how do you check into your hotel without your passport which is your i.d ???

[bamnutsak]

Hard to believe that they - Imm, Qantas - don't have a standard procedure for dealing with IRROPs - but maybe this disarray is the 'standard procedure.

 

I get that that Imm needs to verify who did not board.depart, and make sure they eventually depart the country.