Thai Airways has faced questions over baggage left behind on flights at Suvarnabhumi Airport, with an activist suggesting the disruption may be connected to internal conflict ahead of the airline's selection of a new chief executive. Metta Mas Khaw, vice-chairman of the Council of People Reform and coordinator of the Economic Democracy Network, said that the problem should not have occurred at Thailand's national carrier, which he said had once been internationally recognised as a professional airline. Questions over staffing and contractors Metta said he understood that Thai Airways had faced a labour shortage because of flooding. However, he claimed that, as Thai Airways also provides ground-handling services for other airlines, its remaining resources had been directed first towards those carriers because contractual penalties could be high. He said this had left too few workers to load and transport Thai Airways passengers' bags. He questioned why other airlines had not encountered the same difficulty. Bangkok Flight Services (BFS), operated by Bangkok Airways, and airlines including Vietjet did not have baggage-handling problems, he said. Metta disputed the explanation that flooding had prevented staff from reaching work, saying many workers live near the airport and were still able to travel. He also said Thai Airways uses Pan-X and PanThai as outsourced providers, alleging there could be internal conflict over significant commercial interests. CEO selection raises suspicions Metta said the baggage issue could amount to people "poisoning" one another within Thai Airways as a new CEO is being chosen. He argued that the carrier had not treated the issue seriously, despite having a crisis-management unit that trains external organisations and airlines. He said outsourced workers commonly receive daily wages, low incomes and limited benefits, and argued that additional overtime payments could have resolved a staffing shortage. In his view, the airport and aviation sectors contained major commercial interests, including outsourced labour, shops and parking-bay fees. Call for wholesale reform Metta attributed Thai Airways' previous difficulties to what he described as systemic corruption during its time as a state enterprise. He said the Finance Ministry's holding had fallen below 51%, making it a listed public company. He noted that Thai Airways entered rehabilitation about six years ago after nearing bankruptcy. He repeated his proposal for the state to regain full ownership, remove the board and employ professional managers, while operating the airline with private-sector efficiency. Metta said Thai Airways had annual revenue averaging 200 billion baht for several years and should be capable of a 5-10% profit margin. He said it once contributed almost 10 billion baht in annual revenue to the state. He also called for cuts to duplicate senior roles, saying the airline still has more than 15,000-17,000 staff after rehabilitation. He cited United Airlines, which he said recovered after entering bankruptcy twice by reducing former employee benefits including pensions and free-flight privileges. Thai Airways ceased to be a state enterprise on 22 May 2020, becoming a public company. Related stories Thai-airways-working-to-clear-Suvarnabhumi-baggage-backlog Thai-airways-halts-cargo-intake-at-Suvarnabhumi Thai-airways-cancels-flights-on-key-routes Thai-kings-eldest-son-applies-for-Thai-airways-CEO-role Join the discussion? 1 October 2026
View full article
Create an account or sign in to comment