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

Thai Airways International will stop accepting inbound, outbound and transit cargo at its Suvarnabhumi Airport warehouse from Oct. 1 to 6 after flooding in Bangkok left it short of staff and facing a large backlog of goods.

The embargo runs from 12:01 a.m. on Oct. 1 to 11:59 p.m. on Oct. 6, with exemptions for diplomatic documents, live animals, human remains and mail, the Bangkok Post reported, citing the airline's cargo terminal operations department.

The airline said flooding had kept some warehouse employees from getting to work. The resulting manpower shortage delayed both the release of goods to customers and the transfer of shipments to scheduled flights.

Pausing new intake will let it deploy available staff and resources while keeping the warehouse safe and efficient, and return to normal service as quickly as possible, it added.

Bangkok declared all 50 of its districts a flood disaster zone on Sept. 26 after more than 300 millimeters of rain fell on parts of the city in two days.

Thai Airways, which also handles baggage for partner airlines at Suvarnabhumi, has faced mounting delays, cancellations and a baggage backlog since Sept. 26, when flooding disrupted staff travel to the airport, The Nation reported.

An airport officer arranges baggage from Thai Airways flights at Suvarnabhumi International Airport, after heavy rain and flooding disrupted the airline's ground operations, in Bangkok, Thailand, Sept. 29, 2026. Photo by Reuters

CEO Chai Eamsiri apologized in a live broadcast on Sept. 29, saying fewer than 3% of flights had left on time over the previous two days and only about half the required ground workforce had been turning up. Some 5,600 checked bags were still waiting to be returned to passengers at the time, he said.

He said freight facilities at the airport were overflowing because customers could not collect their goods, tying up equipment needed to handle baggage. Thai Airways would cut departures from Bangkok by 30% to 40% in the coming days to stabilize operations, he added.

The flag carrier canceled 37 more domestic and international flights scheduled between Sept. 29 and Oct. 1, including services to London, Frankfurt, Tokyo, Seoul, Singapore and Sydney, The Nation reported.

Bangkok was the world's most visited city in 2025, with 30.3 million international arrivals, according to market research firm Euromonitor International.