BANGKOK, THAILAND – A chronically ill traveller said a refused wheelchair at Bangkok airport left her injured and waiting more than a year for a response from Thai Airways.
“My booked wheelchair was sent back”
A 58-year-old woman, whose name was known to the editors, had long travelled between Europe and Thailand despite illness. According to her written account, the wheelchair she had booked for her flight in Bangkok was not ready when she arrived, and staff sent it away.
She wrote that she was then forced to walk, even though she was physically unable to do so. She reported that she fell, the fall destroyed her jaw, and she lost teeth as a result.
The subsequent treatment in a private clinic in Ao Nang allegedly worsened her health condition, according to her description. She said Thai Airways did not answer any of her emails; the incident dated back a year.
What Thai Airways promised – and what was reported
On its website, Thai Airways stated that it guaranteed wheelchair assistance from check-in to the aircraft door, provided the service was requested at least 48 hours before departure. The passenger said she had made this request as required.
She wrote that she had first booked such assistance in 2019 and already experienced problems then. The older difficulties, like the recent incident, were described in her letter but had not been independently verified.
What happened in detail at Bangkok airport could not be fully checked from the outside. The editors had the woman’s account in written form, but there was no statement from Thai Airways.
The editorial team did not seek a response from the airline, stressing that the piece was based on a reader’s letter rather than an investigative report. Readers with their own experiences of the carrier’s wheelchair service were invited to share them.
A woman bound to Thailand, feeling abandoned
What set the letter apart from a standard complaint was its tone. The woman wrote in Thai, knew temples and villages in the south of the country, and described herself as more than a tourist.
She portrayed herself as someone whose life was closely linked with Thailand, and who felt abandoned by the national airline that represented the country abroad. Her sense of betrayal, she suggested, came at one of the most vulnerable moments of her life.
Her letter ended briefly yet pointedly:
“I want my smile back.”
said the unnamed reader, frequent traveller.
The teeth she said she lost in the fall had not yet been replaced. She connected that delay to medical care she currently could not access.
What affected passengers could do
According to the guidance included with the letter, passengers who had booked a wheelchair service with Thai Airways but did not receive it should document the incident immediately in writing at the airport. That documentation should include date, time, and, where possible, the names of witnesses.
Complaints to the airline were to be sent to its Customer Relations department in Frankfurt at [email protected]. In cases of bodily injury, the text pointed to the Montreal Convention, which could make airlines liable for proven injuries on board or during boarding and disembarkation, regardless of whether Thai Airways was a European carrier.
The woman wrote that she had taken these steps, but her emails remained unanswered. She said she had been waiting for more than a year and turned to the publication because she saw no other way to be heard.
Editorial note
The article was based on a reader’s letter whose author was known by name to the editorial staff. The incidents described had not been independently verified.
The medical allegations against the named clinic in Ao Nang were presented as the woman’s view and did not constitute an editorial judgment. Thai Airways had not been asked for comment for this piece.