Aot Beefs Up Security At Suvarnabhumi Airport

[george]

AoT beefs up security at Suvarnabhumi

Baggage staff coming under closer scrutiny

BANGKOK: -- Airports of Thailand Plc is stepping up security to curb thefts from passenger baggage at Suvarnabhumi airport.

AoT chairman Piyaphan Champasut said the board had expressed concern at a meeting yesterday about reports of thefts in the airport's luggage handling system.

Several passengers have complained that valuables packed inside their bags had disappeared. They discovered the thefts when they collected their baggage from carousels at the airport.

Mr Piyaphan said AoT management had proposed to the board ways to curb luggage theft.

Stricter security measures would be imposed on staff in the airport's luggage sorting area.

The number of inspectors in the area would be boosted and an additional 165 surveillance cameras would be installed.

A special task unit would also be set up to inspect the luggage handling process.

In addition, AoT plans to add 320 surveillance cameras to the airport's luggage handling area.

Luggage handlers must wear uniforms without pockets, and will be required to wear luminous vests with a tag clearly stating their name and unit at all times.

AoT also plans to make lockers available for luggage handlers to store their belongings.

The handlers will be searched when they enter and leave the luggage handling area.

AoT will act swiftly against staff caught stealing.

They will be fired and the contracted company that hired them will face legal consequences.

A firm whose staff steal from passengers' bags more than three times will have its contract terminated, Mr Piyaphan said.

If luggage theft occurred, it was contracted staff who were responsible.

But the AoT had to shoulder the cost of stepping up security at the airport to tackle the problem.

AoT management has proposed that private firms pay a share of the airport's additional security costs, he said.

The AoT board yesterday also approved a management plan to collect an extra 989 million baht in rent from the King Power group, which runs duty free shops at the airport. AoT demanded the extra rent after Suvarnabhumi airport found King Power's duty free outlets took up more retail space than stated in its contract with AoT.

-- Bangkok Post 2009-07-31

[Aasim]

another crackdown .. i think government have nothing else to do i reckon !

[neverdie]

so now the special task force set up gets to share in a percentage of the stolen good ....why would this area be any different to any of the other areas in Thailand.

[skettios]

I've actually never heard that this is much of a problem. I'd much rather have them get rid of the touts in the lobby.

[slapout]

Why does the expression smoke and mirrors come to mind? With all the publicity given to the airport in the past few weeks about various scams, touts, bogus officials, etc , and we get this. The AOT dropped the court action against KP and now they say they approved the management plan to collect rent for space utilized but not authorized. HOW???? If the Post has reported a factual report on this subject, the group who is reaching for Swampy to hit the top 10 of airports, in the world, had better hit reset.

[saintofsilence]

I've actually never heard that this is much of a problem. I'd much rather have them get rid of the touts in the lobby.

Are you happy for the stealing from luggage to proceed ? as long as they get rid of touts.

[StrandedBusinessPerson]

Wait, a thief gets two free passes before they are fired on the third botched attempt to rip us off?!? What kinda crazy rule is that out. This is not baseball, it's crime. We always wonder why when we go to tland we always come home with more things missing then travels elsewhere, remarkably so. Now we know. Cheers.

[thefalang]

everybody needs his cut right, and they forgot the luggage thieves...

ur last surprise when you come home... if you did not end up in one of the other thai scemes to get rid of your useless baht's outside thailand...

so for tourists who plan to come here :

ripped on arrival

ripped with taxi fares

prepare to pay double in hotels, restaurants, shops ...

watch out for security that might accuse you with dropping a sigarette bud even you do not smoke ...

carefull when shopping in duty free, might end up in jail

what out of buying stuff or doing business with thais as you might fly out of a window (famous in pattaya)

watch out not to get robbed, shot, stabbed

watch out for ladyboys, aids, veneral deseases

etc...

CLASSIC POST.....So true. Thailand the land of lies and deception!

So true, so true... This is the unfortunate reality. As a friend once said, Thailand is a country full of con men.

[h90]

another crackdown .. i think government have nothing else to do i reckon !

The Thaksin government was the government of hubs...every day it was announced that Thailand will be the hub of something.....

this will be the government of crackdowns....

[pattayamick]

I've actually never heard that this is much of a problem. I'd much rather have them get rid of the touts in the lobby.

Are you happy for the stealing from luggage to proceed ? as long as they get rid of touts.

I have flown into Bangkok airport appx 10 times every year since 1972, never lost any baggage.

[neverdie]

I am wondering what sort of things are getting stolen from the bags. Are people really silly enough to put valuables inside their checked baggage. I travel often out of Thailand and my bag has clothing in it, possibly a pair of shoes and towel or two. I would imagine that its not clothing that they are after.

Are people really silly enuf to put their handy cams,the cameras, ipods, jewellery etc in the bag? What do they carry onto the plane, invaluables?

[kiwisr]

With the thieves at London's Heathrow it's a wonder there is anything left at all the suitcases for the Thai baggage handlers to steal.

[kiwisr]

I am wondering what sort of things are getting stolen from the bags. Are people really silly enough to put valuables inside their checked baggage. I travel often out of Thailand and my bag has clothing in it, possibly a pair of shoes and towel or two. I would imagine that its not clothing that they are after.

Are people really silly enuf to put their handy cams,the cameras, ipods, jewellery etc in the bag? What do they carry onto the plane, invaluables?

This is Thailand remember - when i go to through grotty old shoes or clothes in the bin my wife often stops me and says her brother would like those - and it appears to be quite true.

[chillibilly]

--- the same thing (baggage handlers stealing) has happened in the United States or elsewhere in the world. Why not have security cameras on these guys and display the 20 or more monitors on a huge screen at the airport and have the bored passengers (that are waiting for their delayed Air Asia flights) to look at the screens for entertainment.

I just came back from a holiday in Hanoi, Vietnam. It made me realize how more advance Thailand is. The expat community can be quite critical of Thailand government/infrastructure but the good thing is that we are comparing it to a Western country, not with Thailand's neighbors such as Laos, Cambodia, or Vietnam. Yes, we have high expectations for the place (LOS) because of its development...

Edited July 31, 2009 by chillibilly

[z21rhd]

AoT will act swiftly against staff caught stealing.

They will be fired and the contracted company that hired them will face legal consequences.

A firm whose staff steal from passengers' bags more than three times will have its contract terminated, Mr Piyaphan said.

If luggage theft occurred, it was contracted staff who were responsible.

Who is meant to act swiftly? AoT or the Contracting Company?

Why not hand them over to the Police ?

What legal consequences ?

Why 3 times ?

Why is it the Contracted staff who are responsible ?

In other words AoT is not responsible, like most of the work it has contracted out !!!

It could be an opportunity to examine Pr. Piyaphan's own contract

Edited July 31, 2009 by astral

[shaunoro]

So is AOT instally 165 security cameras or 320 security cameras?

Or is it both or probably zero.

Nice and clear from BKKPost.

[lizardofoz]

Did anyone notice the comment lower in the Post article that the employee would get fired after he had stolen gear from bags 3 times!!??

[Paulo1]

everybody needs his cut right, and they forgot the luggage thieves...

ur last surprise when you come home... if you did not end up in one of the other thai scemes to get rid of your useless baht's outside thailand...

so for tourists who plan to come here :

ripped on arrival

ripped with taxi fares

prepare to pay double in hotels, restaurants, shops ...

watch out for security that might accuse you with dropping a sigarette bud even you do not smoke ...

carefull when shopping in duty free, might end up in jail

what out of buying stuff or doing business with thais as you might fly out of a window (famous in pattaya)

watch out not to get robbed, shot, stabbed

watch out for ladyboys, aids, veneral deseases

etc...

Yes, so true. Welcome to Thailand

[TAWP]

--- the same thing (baggage handlers stealing) has happened in the United States or elsewhere in the world. Why not have security cameras on these guys and display the 20 or more monitors on a huge screen at the airport and have the bored passengers (that are waiting for their delayed Air Asia flights) to look at the screens for entertainment.

I actually like that idea.

And picking up almost a billion in extra rent, holy moly...good luck with that one.

[marsteele]

everybody needs his cut right, and they forgot the luggage thieves...

ur last surprise when you come home... if you did not end up in one of the other thai scemes to get rid of your useless baht's outside thailand...

so for tourists who plan to come here :

ripped on arrival

ripped with taxi fares

prepare to pay double in hotels, restaurants, shops ...

watch out for security that might accuse you with dropping a sigarette bud even you do not smoke ...

carefull when shopping in duty free, might end up in jail

what out of buying stuff or doing business with thais as you might fly out of a window (famous in pattaya)

watch out not to get robbed, shot, stabbed

watch out for ladyboys, aids, veneral deseases

etc...

CLASSIC POST.....So true. Thailand the land of lies and deception!

Must of what is being said here happens in the high tourist areas of phuket and Pattaya. Never hear of such problems in Chiangmai or the north of thailand. If you are going to hang around the sleaze dens then you have to expect all you get. People who go to such places are a magnet.

[noahvail]

1. 
   

   I've actually never heard that this is much of a problem. I'd much rather have them get rid of the touts in the lobby.

   If you follow/search some of the posts here, you'll discover that this happens on a fairly regular basis. I've taken the advice of some of the posters and now secure my luggage not with locks, but with coloured cable ties. Seems to work just fine...no more broken locks, for a start.

   But agreed about the touts in the lobby, too

[wackysleet]

Wait, a thief gets two free passes before they are fired on the third botched attempt to rip us off?!? What kinda crazy rule is that out. This is not baseball, it's crime. We always wonder why when we go to tland we always come home with more things missing then travels elsewhere, remarkably so. Now we know. Cheers.

What it actually says is that a thief will be fired and if the company he works for has more than 3 cases of theft by their employees then they will lose the contract, as I read it.

[neverdie]

Did anyone notice the comment lower in the Post article that the employee would get fired after he had stolen gear from bags 3 times!!??

Yes, I missed that initially. I wonder how many times someone has actually stolen something before they get caught 3 times. What a joke.

[marsteele]

Did anyone notice the comment lower in the Post article that the employee would get fired after he had stolen gear from bags 3 times!!??

3 times or caught stealing 3 times. A thief gets away with a lot more than he is caught for.

[noahvail]

Did anyone notice the comment lower in the Post article that the employee would get fired after he had stolen gear from bags 3 times!!??

Is this the quote you mean?

A firm whose staff steal from passengers' bags more than three times will have its contract terminated, Mr Piyaphan said.

It's the sub-contracting company that will be dismissed if their employees (in toto) steal more than three times. To my mind, that's a nice bit of encouragement from AoT to keep their sub-contractors honest.

[dunque]

everybody needs his cut right, and they forgot the luggage thieves...

ur last surprise when you come home... if you did not end up in one of the other thai scemes to get rid of your useless baht's outside thailand...

so for tourists who plan to come here :

ripped on arrival

ripped with taxi fares

prepare to pay double in hotels, restaurants, shops ...

watch out for security that might accuse you with dropping a sigarette bud even you do not smoke ...

carefull when shopping in duty free, might end up in jail

what out of buying stuff or doing business with thais as you might fly out of a window (famous in pattaya)

watch out not to get robbed, shot, stabbed

watch out for ladyboys, aids, veneral deseases

etc...

CLASSIC POST.....So true. Thailand the land of lies and deception!

So true, so true... This is the unfortunate reality. As a friend once said, Thailand is a country full of con men.

Ah yes, remind me again, where did sub-prime start?

[mickba]

Wait, a thief gets two free passes before they are fired on the third botched attempt to rip us off?!?............................................snipped

Why don't you wait - wait until you've read the OP before you fire off your inaccurate Thai bashing post?

It says the thief gets fired when caught and then it says if it happens three times the employing company's contract gets terminated.

OK yes or not?

I've been through Swampy lots of times and I am stupid enough to put valuables in checked luggage and I've never had a problem. That's not to say there isn't one and the proposed measures sound good to me if implemented.

I wonder what the story is re baggage theft at Heathrow or JFK or wherever these days. Never happens I suppose.

[Beacher]

"The number of inspectors in the area would be boosted and an additional 165"

The only thing I see happening because of this is that theft will increase. There will now be 165 more people with their hands out ready for their portion of the booty.

[TheWizardofRnR]

A good friend had his stuff stolen twice and last time the bag even missed the plane , the post office in Phuket needs more cameras too

last pkg i got was opened enough to remove some items

[sawadeeken]

About a year ago I had items pilfered (stolen) from one of my bags that was delayed and delivered to the Thai Ticket center at the Dusit Hotel in Pattaya. I had flown Thai Airways non-stop from Los Angeles and originated with United Airlines and finished up with Thai. to make a long story short - I got a "good will" $100 USD for about $400 worth of missing items (Including computer flash drives, etc.) They only have to pay you by law $8 per pound ($20 per Kilo) for pilfered item claims..... I am thrilled if they are "really" doing something to get those BASTARDS finally