Bangkok floodwaters recede as Thai Airways battles baggage chaos

Standing water in Thailand’s capital is expected to clear within three days if there is no additional rainfall, the government said on Wednesday, as flag carrier Thai Airways struggled to resume regular services following heavy rain and flooding.

The cabinet will discuss long-term plans to address flooding and recovery measures on Tuesday, government spokesperson Ekkapob Pianpises told a news briefing.

Bangkok was hit by around 320 mm of rain over two to three days last week, nearly as much as the sprawling low-lying city usually gets in the whole of September.

Although Bangkok’s main airports kept running through the weekend rain and flooding, some baggage handling operations at Suvarnabhumi Airport were severely impacted, with 69 Thai Air Force personnel called in on Monday to support ground operations of flag carrier Thai Airways.

Hundreds of bags were still lined up in hallways inside the airport on Tuesday, according to Reuters photographs.

In a statement on social media early on Tuesday, Thai Airways said 34 of its flights had been delayed on Monday and baggage from 52 flights between September 26 and 27 was being delivered to passengers.

In another social media post, the airline said that it had cancelled eight flights on Tuesday “due to the flooding situation in Bangkok and aircraft rotation”, and warned that additional flight cancellations or schedule changes could occur.

Some 1,267 businesses across 40 provinces have been affected by flooding, including 52 factories and 1,162 small and medium enterprises, according to Thailand’s industry minister Varawut Silpa-archa.

Nationwide, economic damage caused by the flooding was estimated at over $320 million.