THAI chairman orders crew review as heroin case damages national image

Thai Airways International has been ordered to review its crew regulations after a flight attendant was detained by Australian authorities in a heroin-smuggling case that has raised concern over the airline’s image and Thailand’s international reputation.

Lavaron Sangsnit, permanent secretary of finance and chairman of Thai Airways International Plc, said the company was urgently investigating the facts surrounding the case, which involved a crew member on an inbound flight at Melbourne Airport on June 25.
c

He said the airline needed to establish what had actually happened and whether the crew member had been deceived into carrying illegal items. The person involved remains in custody in Australia and is subject to legal proceedings there.

Australian authorities have said a 26-year-old Thai airline employee was arrested at Melbourne Airport after more than 1kg of heroin was found concealed in the linings of tote bags. The suspect faces charges related to importing and possessing heroin, with the case due to proceed through the Australian justice system.

Lavaron said he had instructed Thai Airways’ management to urgently review all crew operating rules, even though the airline already has regulations prohibiting employees from possessing, importing, transporting or becoming involved with narcotics or any other illegal items.

The review will assess whether existing measures remain appropriate and sufficiently strict. Management has been told to tighten controls and update procedures to close any gaps that may have emerged in past operations.

“The company must urgently restore confidence that an incident with such serious consequences will not happen again, after we had not faced this kind of problem for a long time,” Lavaron said.

He acknowledged that the case would inevitably have a negative impact, not only on Thai Airways but also on wider perceptions of Thailand.

The incident is expected to lead to stricter screening of other crew members assigned to flights to Australia. Lavaron also warned that it could have a knock-on effect on ordinary Thai passengers travelling to the country.

He said the case represented serious damage to both Thai Airways’ corporate image and Thailand’s national reputation.

Thai Airways has previously said it will cooperate fully with Australian authorities and conduct its own internal fact-finding process.