December 15, 2022
BANGKOK – Suvadhana admitted that it took more than 30 minutes to handle one flight’s luggage at Suvarnabhumi airport earlier this year and that some flights were delayed due to slow luggage handling.
He said the carrier realises this is an issue and is recruiting more staff to deal with it. About 1,000 positions are open at the carrier’s Suvarnabhumi operations. These are positions for ground services, including baggage handlers, drivers of vehicles in the airport, and kitchen staff, he said.
“THAI is recruiting employees to fill ground positions to meet the rising number of passengers,” Suvadhana said, adding: “The new recruits will have to undergo training for four or five weeks in line with the regulations of the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand.”
He said he is confident that during the long New Year holidays, THAI ground staff would be able to handle baggage efficiently and would do it within a 30-minute per-flight limit.
Currently, THAI provides 80% of ground operations for flights at Suvarnabhumi.
Asked to comment on a report that the Transport Ministry may select a new ground service operator to take about 40% of this work from THAI, Suvadhana said a new company might face the same issues THAI did so it would be useless to reduce its operation at the airport.
Suvadhana replied that the delays earlier this year were caused by staff shortages in the aviation industry as a whole.