Suphajee Suthumpun, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce, has called on Thai Airways to speed up its handling of air cargo service problems after the airline announced a temporary suspension of inbound and outbound cargo acceptance at its cargo terminal from September 30 to October 6, 2026. She said the seven-day period was too long and would have wide-ranging effects on the country's image and on exports, especially agricultural goods. Suphajee said the government must ask Thai Airways to resolve the problem in less than seven days, and that the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Transport and the Thai Airways board should meet to find a structural solution. She also assigned the Department of International Trade Promotion to closely assess the impact on the export sector and to coordinate with other airlines to urgently find alternative channels and routes, with special priority given to agricultural and perishable goods. Air cargo is not Thailand's main export channel, since most agricultural products, particularly those shipped to China, rely mainly on the rail system. As for export markets, Thailand depends on shipments to the United States and China combined for about one third of the total value of its exports, with more than 20% going to the United States and more than 10% to China. Thailand has negotiated with the United States and has now reached agreement in principle after the United States had initially aimed to impose tariffs on Thailand as high as 36%, and the two sides are finalising the finer details. At the same time, Thailand is accelerating efforts to diversify into the EU, which accounts for only 7-8% of its exports. Thailand-EU free trade agreement talks have completed nine rounds, with two thirds of the deal settled, and are now entering a tenth round, with the negotiations expected to conclude by the end of this year. As for India, where talks had been stalled for three years, the two sides agreed to take 45 days to find a joint model, and if successful they will aim to conclude the Thailand-India free trade agreement within 90 days.
Thai Airways International Public Company LimitedThai Airways suspended inbound and outbound cargo acceptance at its terminal for seven days, disrupting its air cargo service and drawing government pressure to resolve it faster.
