Thai Airways suspends crew over uncollected meal trays

Thai Airways is investigating an incident on a flight from Singapore’s Changi Airport (SIN) to Bangkok Airport (BKK) where cabin crew have allegedly failed to collect passengers’ in-flight meal trays before landing.

A TikTok video posted on February 17, 2023 by one of the passengers with the username praewa_panicha, showed the flight landing with meal trays still sitting on the foldable tables on a number of passengers’ seats.

Cutlery and dishes were seen rattling as the plane landed, and a water bottle eventually fell from one of the tables.

In an answer to a comment on the video, praewa_panicha said that no crew came to collect the meal trays, even though she pressed the call button.

She posted a second TikTok video on February 18, 2023, explaining what occurred on the flight. Praewa_panicha said that she and her companions were surprised to hear the pilot announce the flight’s descent and meal trays were still uncollected.

She added that they had a hard time fastening their seat belts with the tray tables down and meal trays still on them, adding that they had to hold on to the trays as the plane landed to prevent them from falling.

In a response to a comment to the video, she said that when the aircraft came to a complete stop, she informed a cabin crew member, who was ‘shocked’ and apologized.

Thai Airways posted a statement on its Facebook page on February 18, 2023 stating that the airline holds the safety of passengers to the utmost importance, and that the company “is currently in the process of urgently investigating to find the facts”.

On February 22, 2023, The Straits Times reported that Thai Airways had suspended the cabin crew involved over the incident for a month without pay, and that the airline is still continuing with its investigation.