Passenger questions Thai Airways after overnight TG619 ordeal
A TG619 passenger details an overnight delay, limited updates and a long baggage wait at Suvarnabhumi, calling for Thai Airways accountability.
- A passenger on flight TG619 from Chengdu to Bangkok criticised Thai Airways for a prolonged overnight delay, citing a lack of clear communication regarding the revised departure time.
- Upon arrival at Suvarnabhumi Airport, passengers faced a further delay disembarking the aircraft due to a reported shortage of ground staff.
- The ordeal continued in the terminal with a two-hour wait for luggage, during which no airline or airport staff were reportedly available to provide information or assistance.
- The passenger described the experience as a "Thai Airways disaster", questioning the airline's management and its handling of the entire disruption.
A passenger on Thai Airways flight TG619 has described an exhausting overnight journey from Chengdu to Bangkok, alleging a lack of clear communication during a prolonged delay before facing another wait to leave the aircraft and hours at the baggage carousel after landing at Suvarnabhumi Airport.
The passenger directed his criticism at the management of Thai Airways International, including Chief Executive Officer Chai Eamsiri, questioning how the airline handled the disruption and whether the experience amounted to what he described as a “Thai Airways disaster”.
Overnight delay begins in Chengdu
According to his account, the passenger arrived at Chengdu airport to check in at 1.30pm on Monday (September 28), when counter staff informed him that flight TG619 had been delayed and was rescheduled to depart at 11pm.
Thai Airways arranged transport and hotel accommodation for affected passengers. However, he complained that the hotel was far from the airport and offered few nearby facilities, arguing that accommodation closer to the terminal would have been more appropriate.
He also claimed that no further information about the flight was provided by email or through the Thai Airways app.
By 11pm, the revised departure time had passed without passengers being called back to the airport or receiving another update, according to his account.
Hotel staff later informed the passengers that they had not received further instructions from Thai Airways and asked them to continue waiting, with no new departure time provided.
The passenger described the uncertainty as making it difficult for anyone to sleep.
Passengers return to airport after midnight
At about 1.30am on Tuesday (September 29), hotel staff instructed the passengers to return to Chengdu airport by vehicle.
They then waited for nearly another two hours at the airport before the Thai Airways aircraft arrived at the gate. Flight TG619 eventually departed at about 4.50am, according to the passenger.
The aircraft reached Suvarnabhumi Airport at approximately 6.25am, but the passenger claimed those on board then had to wait before they could leave the aircraft.
According to his account, cabin crew informed passengers that there were not enough ground staff available to assist with opening the aircraft door.
The wait lasted about 25 minutes before passengers were able to disembark.
Two-hour baggage wait adds to disruption
The difficulties continued inside the terminal, where the passenger described waiting at the baggage carousel for about two hours without receiving his luggage.
He recounted that people familiar with similar situations advised passengers to go home and return the following day rather than continue waiting.
The passenger also complained that there were no Thai Airways or airport staff nearby to explain what affected travellers should do, while staff were also absent from the baggage-tracing counter.
Passengers were therefore left to seek information themselves and work out how to report their luggage as missing or delayed, he claimed.
Passenger asks if this was a “Thai Airways disaster”
The passenger strongly criticised what he regarded as a failure by Thai Airways to provide adequate assistance throughout the disruption, from the overnight delay in Chengdu to the baggage problems at Suvarnabhumi.
“If this is not a ‘Thai Airways disaster’, what should it be called?” he asked.
He called for management changes and greater accountability to passengers and members of the public who had placed their trust in Thai Airways.
The passenger also questioned how a single episode of disruption could cause such serious damage to passengers’ confidence in the airline.
