Suvarnabhumi Airport Baggage Chaos Continues After Floods

Suvarnabhumi Airport remains in chaos as Thai and foreign passengers continue waiting for lost baggage. Some travelers who landed on September 26 are only now retrieving their bags as Thai Airways rushes to resolve the crisis.

The airport has been hit hard by flooding across the region, leaving some Thai Airways ground staff unable to reach work and damaging baggage conveyor equipment. This caused outbound flights to be delayed and incoming passengers to wait longer than normal for their luggage, with bags from multiple flights left unclaimed. The problem began on September 26.

As of September 29, Thai Airways reported 52 flights with unclaimed baggage from September 26-27 undergoing sorting, transport, and return to registered passengers. On September 28 alone, 34 flights were delayed, and the airline has cancelled some flights on September 29-30 due to continued flooding in Bangkok and surrounding areas.

This afternoon, reporters at Suvarnabhumi's baggage claim area found both Thai and foreign passengers continuing to arrive to collect their missing luggage. Most passengers interviewed said they arrived at the airport from September 26 onward but found their bags missing from the carousel. Staff directed them to file claims and told them to return later to collect their bags. Some passengers expected to retrieve their luggage today after waiting several days.

Multiple passenger groups have been affected. Incoming passengers—Thai and foreign—arrived at Suvarnabhumi but their luggage remains unclaimed. Another group includes outbound passengers whose flights were cancelled after their bags were already loaded onto planes, forcing them to contact staff to retrieve them. A third group has connecting flights that were cancelled after they reached the airport, leaving them waiting for updates and assistance from the airline.

Thai Airways said it is mobilizing additional personnel and resources to speed up sorting, transport, and return of unclaimed baggage. This afternoon, baggage claim remained crowded with multiple groups of passengers continuing to contact staff and wait for their belongings after being affected by delayed flights, cancellations, and missing luggage.