Thailand Floods Kill 23 as Bangkok Airport Struggles and Cabinet Approves Aid

At least 23 people have died in Thailand since September 16 as rains and flooding battered large parts of the country, authorities said on Tuesday, even as water began receding from the capital.

Bangkok was hit by about 320 mm (12.6 inches) of rain over three days last week, nearly matching the city's typical rainfall for the entire month of September. The flooding affected 42 provinces and caused an estimated $367 million in damage across roughly two dozen provinces, with the toll including four deaths in Bangkok, according to the Interior Ministry.

Bangkok Governor Chadchart Sittipunt said he expected floodwater to clear from the city's major roads within two days, though other inundated areas could take up to a week. "Recovery efforts are under way in areas where the water has gone down," he said.

Airport disruption

While Bangkok's main airports remained open, Suvarnabhumi Airport, the country's largest, descended into chaos. Thai Airways said half of its personnel were unable to reach work, crippling operations. The flag carrier plans to cut about 30 flights from Bangkok on Tuesday — roughly 30% of its planned departures — and is dealing with some 5,600 bags left stranded at Suvarnabhumi.

"Almost 100% of flights over the past two days were delayed, with fewer than 3% on schedule as operational capacity could not be sustained," said Thai Airways Chief Executive Chai Eamsiri, adding that the flight reductions would last at least three days.

Passengers faced confusion. Emir Demiroez, who flew in from Azerbaijan and was trying to catch a connecting flight to Malaysia, said: "Nobody knows anything. Nobody can help us. We can't find our baggage. We have our second flight at 2 p.m., but I don't know if we'll get it."

Tourism Minister Surasak Phancharoenworakul criticised the airline, saying it had assigned its own staff to serve other carriers for which it provides contracted ground-handling services to avoid penalty charges. "This damages the country's image," he told reporters, adding that management needed to work more proactively. "If they don't want to do the job, then resign." Thai Airways did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Aid and long-term drainage

Tourism is a key pillar of Thailand's economy, which has lagged regional peers since the pandemic. Foreign arrivals fell 3.12% year-on-year between January and September to 21.28 million visitors.

At a cabinet meeting on Tuesday, the government approved more than 4 billion baht ($119 million) to address the impact of the floods, Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul said. A separate long-term drainage project costing 160 billion baht ($4.8 billion) was also given the go-ahead. The project is expected to take eight years to complete and aims to strengthen flood protection across the central region, Bangkok and surrounding areas.