Passenger stopped with 13kg gas canister before boarding Phuket bound flight

Passengers about to board a Phuket bound flight on Tuesday were horrified to see a fellow travelling had checked in a bag containing a 13 kilogram gas canister.

In front of more than 100 passengers waiting to board a Thai Lion Air jet, airport officials confronted a male Thai passenger about his bag they had discovered contained something forbidden. He was asked to verify that the bag was his and open it there and then, reports Thairath.

He pulled out the gas canister as airport staff told him it was strictly forbidden but the passenger, named as Prakorp Jaithiang, argued as incredulous passengers looked on that he needed it for his work down south. He told them he didn’t want to fly if he couldn’t take the gas with him.

The whole episode at Gate 74 Don Meuang on Tuesday afternoon was described on a Facebook page by a fellow passenger who took pictures. She quoted the owner of the gas telling staff “why didn’t you tell me I couldn’t take it before I got this far?”

The post and the multiple shares that it generated prompted airport authorities to mount an investigation but they said that procedures were correctly followed and it was the passenger who was at fault for not waiting for the results of the X-Ray of his bag.

The report into the incident stated that the passenger completed check in formalities in the departure hall at 4.40pm for the Thai Lion Air flight SL762 to Phuket. The passenger’s bag was checked using ‘inline screening’ through an EDS machine. Staff found that the bag contained something that looked like a canister but the passenger, contrary to requests to wait for the results of screening, had already gone to the gate.

Officials found the passenger at the gate 30 minutes before departure and in line with their procedures asked him to verify that he was the owner before opening it himself and taking out the contents.

They assured the travelling public that the X-Ray machine was not fooled and all actions were in line with their SOP (Standard Operating Procedures).

They asked the public to ensure that they wait while checked in bags are screened in case there are forbidden items.

No action against the passenger has been announced.

Thai Visa / Thairath

Stay updated with Samui Times by following us on Facebook.