BANGKOK, Thailand – Thai Airways International shares slid 3.31 per cent Wednesday, deepening a 1.63 per cent fall earlier in the week, after ground-handling failures at Suvarnabhumi Airport stranded 5,600 passenger bags over three days and triggered delays, cancellations and a public backlash.

Minister Tells Thai Airways Executives to Resign Over Baggage Crisis

Chief executive Chai Eamsiri apologised for the breakdown and set a 72-hour target to clear the backlog. Flooding across Bangkok kept staff from reaching the airport, crippling ground operations and leaving travellers without luggage as communication faltered.

Krungsri Securities analyst Dithanop Vattanawakin said the disruption will bring immediate one-off costs — passenger compensation, overtime and outsourced ground staff fees — plus lost revenue from grounded aircraft. Yuanta Securities analyst Teerat Taranapipnun noted the hit to near-term sentiment but said the financial drag should stay contained if operations normalise quickly as floodwaters recede.

The timing is delicate: the year’s final quarter is peak season for regional carriers, which typically schedule fleet maintenance in the slower second and third quarters so every aircraft is ready by October. A drawn-out breakdown leaves Thai Airways trailing rivals such as Singapore Airlines and low-cost carriers adding capacity to Bangkok, with tour operators and business travellers likely to shift to competing hubs if the chaos persists.

The episode has also laid bare structural weaknesses. Globlex Securities research head Suwat Sinsadok pointed to lingering state-enterprise rigidities that slow rapid adjustments during shocks, while broader flood-related transport disruptions across central Thailand compounded the crisis — Thai Airways had already halted cargo intake earlier in the week as floodwaters hit supply chains and automotive plants outside the capital.

Thai Airways Expands Flight Cancellations Through October 1

Analysts give the carrier one to two weeks to restore stability before fourth-quarter bookings take lasting damage, meaning management must clear the remaining bags and rebuild ground shifts before winter schedules expand.

-Thailand News (TN)