Thai woman faces backlash over luggage request to Japan

A Thai woman travelling to Japan faced online backlash after posting a request for someone to carry her extra luggage for a fee of 2,000 baht. Her post, which appeared in the Facebook group กลุ่มคนชอบตะลอนเที่ยวญี่ปุ่น (Japan Travel Group), was quickly removed following a flood of critical comments.

The traveller asked if anyone flying to Tokyo with China Eastern Airline on August 22 had spare luggage capacity and could help her by checking in an additional bag weighing up to 23 kilogrammes, as per airline standards. She explained that she had bought too many items and her two bags were insufficient to carry everything.

“Is anyone flying to Tokyo on the 22nd with China Eastern Airline and has spare luggage capacity? I need to check in one more bag, not exceeding 23 kilogrammes, and will pay 2,000 baht for the favour. I will collect the bag myself upon arrival. Please let me know, and I will contact you. Thank you.”

The post quickly attracted a torrent of negative comments from netizens, forcing her to delete it. Many criticised her, suggesting that purchasing additional baggage weight would be more straightforward than asking others to carry her load.

Commenters were quick to point out the potential risks involved in accepting to carry someone else’s luggage. They highlighted that in several countries, there have been instances where Thai nationals have been imprisoned because they agreed to transport items for others without knowing their contents.

This led many to speculate that there might be something suspicious about her reluctance to simply buy more luggage weight, reported KhaoSod.

“Why not just buy extra baggage weight? It’s much safer and straightforward. Asking strangers to carry your bag can be risky.”

“Many Thai people have ended up in jail abroad because they agreed to carry bags for others. It’s not worth the risk.”

There has been no official comment from China Eastern Airlines on the incident and the woman did not respond to netizens’ comments.