News Forum - Check-in mayhem for Thai Airways flights last Friday

[Thaiger]

The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) has ordered airlines and airports to make urgent adjustments after acknowledging long queues for Thai Airways flights at Suvarnabhumi airport. The early morning flight check in delays at the Thai Airways counters in Suvarnabhumi Airport was caused by a lack of check-in staff at the Thai Airways counters, according to the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand. For their part, Thai Airways conceded they were under-staffed and that “more staff will now be added”. Airline executives were on the scene trying to sort out the delays and keep passengers informed of the situation. They […]

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[dbrenn]

Stories like this all around the world. Airlines laid off their staff during covid are now struggling to rehire them.

[Rebel]

Logistics is definitely not one of Thailands biggest force and it's about nearly everything that moves. Sometimes it's like living on an island and not a reasonable big country.

[Cabra]

The airline industry is in turmoil globally. The tourism industry does not recover until the airline industry getting it's act together. 

[JJJ]

They know how many flights they have and people needing to check in. It’s not a hard calculation to make. 

But it does show how antiquated the check in process is in Thailand and no investment in automated technologies from check in to immigration. 

Although the US is completely the opposite way.  When I checked in business class from New York to Tokyo last year, you’re expected to check in, tag your own bag, and put it on the belt yourself. Since it covers domestic and international the agent was angry that my assistance light was flashing and told me try again because I probably did something wrong and just left. Of course it was flashing because he needed to check my docs for the flight to Japan and Thailand. When someone competent came over I had to walk them through all the documents I needed and all the documents I had

[Poolie]

Airport busy shocker! Oh the wonder...........

[Highlandman]

Are all these people fleeing Thailand to escape the country's strict muzzle mandates I wonder?

[Soidog]

3 hours ago, JJJ said:

But it does show how antiquated the check in process is in Thailand and no investment in automated technologies from check in to immigration. 

I think the whole check in process and just about everything to do with air travel is antiquated and totally stuck in a rut. When you take a two hour trip, the whole journey is at least twice that. Airlines even ask you arrive 2 hours (sometimes 3) before your flight. Then the whole rigmarole of checking in, security and boarding starts. Just about everything relating to air travel is tedious and painful. Much of it is due to security measures that having been introduced are never relaxed. At security you virtually have to strip off and empty most of the contents of your carry on bag. Lap top out and in separate tray. Power bank out to be cheked for capacity. Belt off. Coat off. Shoes off. I once forgot I had a bottle of water in my carry on while checking through London Heathrow. You’d have thought I had a couple of pounds of Semtex in my bag. Once they found the water and questioned me, they placed the water in a bin right next to them. The bin was full of all manner of “suspicious items”. If they are suspicious then why the hell are they not taken away from the security area!! Air travel is poor and will only get worse unless there is a significant change of mindset by security and airport/airline operators. The global staffing shortages is a symptom of the lack of ingenuity and capabilities of aviation operations.