Thai Smile Airways’ turbulent tiff: Passenger’s ‘left-behind’ fiasco halts takeoff in Chiang Mai (video)
A Thai Smile Airways flight had to make an emergency stop as it taxied down the runway after a foreign passenger demanded the plane returned to the terminal gate so he could pick up his left behind valuables at Chiang Mai International Airport.
A Thai TikTok user, bandzlam, shared a video of the incident when a foreign man urged a flight attendant to stop the plane because he forgot his belongings. The video recorder also panned to her left side showing that the plane was moving on the runway while the foreigner requested it to stop.
The caption in the video stated that the foreign man was an Arabian passenger, but the airline has not yet confirmed the statement. The Tiktoker stated…
“The incident occurred in Chaing Mai on July 19. This Arabian passenger forgot his bag at the airport and forced a flight attendant to stop the plane for him when the plane was about to take off. The man claimed that his money and valuables were in the bag. The airline finally stopped the plane and asked all of his family members to leave.”
Due to the noise in the cabin, the conversation between the flight attendant and the foreign passenger was not clear. In response to the urgent request before take-off, the pilot made an official announcement to the other passengers, explaining the brief interruption.
“We have to temporarily discontinue the flight for the safety of all passengers. We will be taking the affected passenger back to the terminal, and the process is expected to take approximately two to five minutes. We sincerely apologise for the delay.”
The TikTok user added the foreign passenger insisted on leaving the plane alone to retrieve the bag, but airport officers encouraged all of his family members to accompany him according to safety measures.
Thai netizens expressed their opinions on the issue in the comment sections. Most of them suggested that the passengers should take care of their belongings to avoid disruption to others. The comments stated…
“I once forgot my mobile phone in Shang Hai. The plane did not even move at that time, but the flight attendant did not allow me to get off the plane and did not even provide help. It is the lesson that we should take care of our belonging.”
“Arabian style, self-centred.”
“I forgot belongings in a foreign country, but the flight attendant supported me by coordinating with their team and delivered my stuff to my destination.”
“This is a plane, not a public bus.”
“Normally, officers will never allow anyone to leave the plane to prevent the possibility of any dangers, like leaving something dangerous on board.”
Thai Smile Airline later clarified the incident via an interview with Channel 3. The airline explained that the incident occurred during the flight from Chaing Mai to Bangkok. The foreign passengers insisted to end their journey and reported their issue to the cabin crew.
The airline emphasised that they followed the standard procedures by returning to the terminal to allow the affected passengers to disembark.
According to ThaiRath, the relevant departments confirmed that this incident did not have any effects on other flights operating on similar schedules.
@bandzlam ดีนะไม่นึกขึ้นได้ว่าลืมตอนเครื่องออกแล้ว สงสัยได้บินกลับ 😞
