Transport Minister Saksayam Chidchob warned Thai Airways and Bangkok Airways to swiftly deal with the delayed luggage problem at the kingdom's airports within one month otherwise he will replace their baggage handlers with another company.
Saksayam visited Suvarnabhumi Airport yesterday to follow up on complaints of crowded terminals, long queues at the taxi service counter, passport check-in counter lines, and the chaos caused by delayed luggage.
The 60 year old minister announced yesterday, November 24, that the problems involving crowded terminals and long lines at the passport check-in counters have been resolved. The average waiting time is 15 minutes per passenger with an officer spending about 60 seconds checking a passenger's passport.
Saksayam reported that the long queue at the taxi service counter at the terminal was also fixed. Suvarnabhumi Airport expanded its waiting area and opened more parking lots for taxi drivers. The waiting time was recorded at 10 minutes per passenger.
The delayed luggage, on the other hand, has yet to be fixed.
Saksayam acknowledged that the ground operation teams of each airline lack human resources. He identified that the nation's ailing tourism industry is still recovering from the pandemic, that all airlines reduced their staff and resized their businesses to cope with the consequential economic downturn, and need a bit of time to recruit more staff.
Saksayam revealed that Thai Airways (THAI) and Bangkok Airways were the worst offenders regarding the delayed luggage problem. THAI take over one and a half hours to get luggage back to their customers whereas Bangkok Airways take about 30 minutes.
The two airlines have been invited to a meeting with the permanent secretary of the Transport Ministry next week.
Saksayam said…
"Each airline will have one month to create an action plan and solve the delay issue. If they cannot solve the problem, the airport will allow other service providers to manage the baggage carousel.
Saksayam says he expects Suvarnabhumi Airport to welcome about 130,000 travellers per day in December, up 13% from November. The arrival process takes about 40 minutes per person.
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