Two of Thailand’s most prominent aviation bosses quit within hours of each other. Sumeth Damrongchaitham, president of Thai Airways, resigned in the middle of the afternoon. The director of Suvarnabhumi International Airport, Sutheerawat Suwannawat, followed. The Thai government had not responded to either departure when The Thaiger reported on them.
Sumeth did not say why he was going. Thai media, citing people inside the airline, reported that he was disappointed by “a lack of assistance from the Thai Ministry of Transport in containing the virus.” A formal letter from the airline to the Thai Stock Exchange confirmed the resignation. He leaves a carrier that registered losses of 12 billion baht last year.
The airport director’s reasons
Sutheerawat’s exit came with a stated reason, and a different one from the rumor. Nitinai Sirismatthakarn, chief of Airports of Thailand (AoT), confirmed it at a media conference. “Sutheerawat made the decision to take personal responsibility over the escape of 80 workers from South Korea from a health checkpoint at the airport last week,” Nitinai said. Nearly all of the workers have since turned themselves in.
Khaosod reported a second layer. According to its source, Sutheerawat was “disheartened by refusal from other agencies, from the military and immigration to Ministry of Health, to cooperate with the airport in screening passengers for the virus.” The source added: “There was no coordination as agreed in meetings.” Staff screening passengers at Suvarnabhumi were also short of face masks, the source said.
A government under fire
The Thaiger did not hold back on its view of Bangkok’s handling of the outbreak. Thai Airways and Suvarnabhumi, it wrote, have been at the front line of a botched rollout of travel restrictions, with policy announcements reversed and quarantine rules changed. The result, in its words, was a pile of ministerial announcements, contradictions and confusion for domestic and international travellers.
