Thai Airways cuts flights and struggles with baggage backlog after Bangkok floods

Thai Airways is cutting flights from Bangkok after heavy rain and flooding disrupted ground operations, chief executive Chai Eamsiri said.

About 30 flights were expected to be cancelled on Tuesday, roughly 30 percent of departures from the Thai capital. The reduced schedule will remain for at least three days, Eamsiri said.

Fewer than 3 percent of flights operated on time over the previous two days, and almost every flight was delayed as the airline struggled to keep up its operational capacity.

Bangkok's main airports stayed open through the weekend of rain and flooding, but baggage handling at Suvarnabhumi Airport was badly hit. About 5,600 bags belonging to Thai Airways passengers are still stuck at the terminal.

On Monday, 69 personnel from the Royal Thai Air Force were called in to reinforce the airline's ramp and ground services and ease the bottleneck. Eamsiri estimated all the accumulated baggage would be dispatched and cleared within 72 hours.

The disruption followed extreme weather in the city, which received close to 320 mm of rain over two to three days last week.