Floods in world's most visited city force national airline to halt cargo for 6 days

From October 1 to 6, Thai Airways, the national airline of Thailand, suspended cargo operations for six days due to severe flooding that had crippled its operations at Suvarnabhumi Airport, the story reported. The ban applied to all cargo shipments, with the exception of diplomatic documents, live animals, human remains, and mail, as the Bangkok Post, citing the airline's cargo terminal operations department, reported.

The flooding had caused a significant manpower shortage, with some warehouse employees unable to reach their workstations, the story noted. This led to delays in both delivering goods to customers and transferring shipments to scheduled flights, the Thai Airways statement added. To ensure the safety and efficiency of their warehouse, the airline decided to halt new intake of goods, which would allow them to deploy available staff and resources effectively, the statement continued.

Bangkok had been declared a flood disaster zone by the government on September 26 after heavy rainfall had inundated 50 of its districts, The Nation reported. Thai Airways, which also handles baggage for partner airlines at Suvarnabhumi, had faced mounting delays, cancellations, and a growing baggage backlog since the floods began on September 26, the newspaper continued.

CEO Chai Eamsiri apologized in a live broadcast on September 29, expressing frustration that fewer than 3% of flights had left on time over the previous two days and that only about half of the required ground workforce had been present, the story concluded.