Airlines, freight forwarders and businesses engaged in international trade are pressuring Thai Airways to resolve a major operational disruption at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport where congestion in its cargo terminals is causing considerable delays and creating difficulties for manufacturing supply chains. The situation, raised by local media and logistics companies, has left large volumes of freight waiting to be processed.

The main problem is a glitch in the cargo clearance system, which was co-developed by Airports of Thailand, the airport operator, and Thai Airways. The Thai Airfreight Forwarders Association (TAFA) said the platform was not giving accurate information about the location of shipments and their storage status. Therefore, warehouse staff are struggling to find, pull out and handle shipments with large volumes of freight still sitting on pallets and in containers ready to be broken apart.

The Nation and business newspaper Thansettakij said hundreds of containers have been left unattended, an indication of the scale of the disruption.

Thailand export industry facing pressure in peak season

The operational problems come at a sensitive time for Thailand's export sector when international shipping activity is rising in the peak season. It is a key country in the global manufacturing of electronics and in the development of the infrastructure for artificial intelligence.

Thailand’s main export categories are electrical machinery and equipment, with production boosted by increasing global demand for AI-related cloud storage infrastructure. The main markets for Thai exports, especially high-tech electronic products, continue to be the United States, China and Japan. The country is also a major exporter of automotive parts and rubber products.

According to the Observatory of Economic Complexity, 22% of Thailand’s exports last year went to the United States, underlining the potential for international repercussions from prolonged disruptions at Bangkok’s main airport.

Thai Airways imposes cargo restrictions

Last week, EFL Global, a freight forwarder, said in a customer advisory that Thai Cargo is taking action to clear severe congestion at its warehouses caused by uncollected cargo. The company warned that the situation could further constrain the availability of air freight capacity and result in further delays.

Thai Airways’ cargo unit has suspended operations of freighter planes until the end of November, with the suspension to remain until further notice. It has also asked airlines to cut inbound cargo volumes by 50% between October 31 and November 7, or consolidate shipments into containers to limit the amount of warehouse space required.

Airlines have also been instructed to provide advance notification of incoming containerized shipments to aid in coordinating handling operations, according to EFL Global.

The disruption is also impacting airline capacity and the availability of bookings on regional routes. In a separate market update, Dimerco Express said some carriers were moving some Asian routes to narrowbody aircraft and restricting bookings as they worked through accumulated cargo volumes.

"The logistics company pointed to delays with ground handler Bangkok Freight Services and advised shippers to book flights several days before their intended departure dates.

Risks for outbound shipments are increasing

“Concerns are no longer with inbound freight. The Bangkok Post says the Thai Chamber of Commerce warned that the build-up of cargo inside Thai Airways’ warehouse could also disrupt outbound shipments.

The effect has already spread to other carriers out of Suvarnabhumi. Delays in handling inbound shipments started to affect the movement of containers for outbound shipments. Therefore, last Wednesday Singapore Airlines Cargo temporarily restricted acceptance of certain categories of cargo at the airport. Limited equipment availability and lack of operating space were also contributing factors, the newspaper reported.

According to local media, Airports of Thailand has stepped in to bring the different stakeholders together to co-ordinate a response and mitigate the impact on airport operations.

Business groups call for urgent improvements to warehouses

The Thai Chamber of Commerce has offered a variety of suggestions on how to get cargo moving again, and improve the way warehouses operate. Its recommendations include grouping shipments by airline, speeding up the break-down of containers, allocating clearly identified storage areas and increasing the number of workers available.

The organization has also called for private sector freight agents to provide additional manpower under warehouse supervision and updating the cargo clearance platform with accurate, real time information of shipment locations.

These measures aim to tackle some of the biggest operational bottlenecks. Reorganizing freight by airline and creating clearly marked storage areas would make it easier to find shipments, and faster deconstruction of unit load devices (ULDs) would allow containers and other equipment to be redeployed for outbound movements.

The absence of reliable visibility of shipments is also a source of administrative difficulties. Freight forwarders and customs brokers need to know where their cargo is stored to be able to properly complete payment procedures and obtain the necessary release authorizations.

Thai Airways Boosts Resources To Clear Backlog

Thai Airways has apologized to customers and airline partners affected by the disruption to the warehouse, admitting the difficulties caused. The carrier is ramping up staff, bringing in more forklifts and prioritizing the delivery of backlogged shipments, the Bangkok Post said.

The airline has also asked Airports of Thailand for temporary warehousing to relieve the strain on existing facilities. At the same time, it plans to introduce a warehouse management system to track cargo from the time it arrives at the airport.

“Thai Airways is now focusing to find and process shipments that came in before October 23 as part of its recovery efforts,

The latest disruption follows another operational problem at Suvarnabhumi Airport in late September when heavy rain and flooding prevented many workers from reaching work. The resulting staff shortages resulted in longer cargo processing and transit times, which put additional strain on airport logistics operations.