Thailand's busiest airport denies opening blogger's bag as new rule allows searches without owners

Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport said on Oct. 21 it found no evidence its own staff opened a travel blogger's checked suitcase, five days after new rules began letting airports search bags without their owners present.

The blogger, who runs the Facebook page "Benz pa pai Journey" and goes by Benz, posted on Oct. 19 that she had found signs her luggage had been opened and searched after flying Hainan Airlines flight HU424 from Bangkok to Chongqing, China, that day, the Bangkok Post reported.

In a video with the post, she said nothing appeared to be missing, but the contents of her suitcase had been disturbed and a bag of underwear had been taken out and not properly put back.

She said she understood the new rules allowed searches when scanners detected suspicious items. But she claimed that bags belonging to other Thai passengers on the same flight had also been opened, and that none of them found a written inspection notice inside.

In a statement, Suvarnabhumi said it had reviewed baggage screening records, operational logs and CCTV footage, Khaosod English reported. The screening system detected no prohibited or dangerous items that would have required further inspection, and the bag was carried automatically to the baggage make-up area under normal procedures, the airport said.

The airport advised the passenger to contact the airline, which could coordinate further checks with its ground-handling provider, and said she could also file a police report.

A baggage claim carousel at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport. Illustration photo by Markus Winkler/Unsplash

The rules, issued by the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT), took effect on Oct. 16 and allow authorized personnel to open checked baggage without the owner present, provided they follow set aviation security procedures.

Suvarnabhumi said such inspections are carried out only when there are reasonable grounds for suspicion, not routinely on every bag.

Images are recorded during each inspection for later review, and a "Notice of Baggage Inspection" is left inside any bag that has been opened, the airport added.

In a separate statement, the CAAT said it had checked with Suvarnabhumi and received preliminary confirmation that the Benz's bag was not opened as part of the airport's security screening for prohibited items, Thai business daily Krungthep Turakij reported.

The regulator said it therefore found no link to the new rules, and that establishing why the bag was opened requires information from other agencies.

It urged passengers who find their bags opened to complain to their airline, which is responsible for carrying checked baggage, and advised against packing cash, jewelry and other valuables in checked luggage.

Suvarnabhumi, Thailand's busiest airport, handled 59.6 million passengers between October 2025 and August 2026, The Nation reported on Sept. 28.