Wallop takes responsibility, resigns from Thai Airways

Thai Airways executive chairman Wallop Bhukkanasut yesterday resigned after spending weeks battling a storm of controversy over the checking in of excess baggage on a THAI flight from Japan to Bangkok in November.

Wallop gave notice to THAI chairman Ampon Kittiampon on Sunday, saying he wanted to take responsibility for the scandal that threatened to wreak more havoc at the troubled, disunited airline.

Speculation was rife, though, that the Bhum Jai Thai Party's de facto leader, Newin Chidchob, had urged Wallop to quit immediately without waiting for a new probe into the controversy. After an initial investigation by THAI found that the allegations against Wallop had grounds, a second probe was initiated and was expected to finish up by next week.

In his resignation letter, Wallop admitted that his luggage from Tokyo's Narita Airport to Suvarnabhumi Airport was over the weight limit, but insisted the extra luggage was not for a "business purpose". He said the additional load belonged to a travel companion who had asked to use his name.

Ampon said Wallop has stepped down from all his positions at THAI, including his top post of executive chairman and also board member of its subsidiary, budget airline Nok Air.

Ampon said Wallop wanted to set a high ethical standard for the company by giving up his positions after being caught in a controversy. He said Wallop had no intention of damaging the reputation of the national carrier, of which his late father, Kanit, was a cofounder.

Transport Minister Sophon Saram said Wallop resigned to take responsibility for the controversy, which had snowballed into suspicions that he had used his loading privileges to bring in foreign goods for sale.

In interviews with The Nation, he strongly denied claims that his wife had opened a shop selling imported merchandise, saying she only |had been teaching her customers |to make foreign handicrafts.

Ampon said the probe into the affair would continue and Wallop would be required to pay any charges that were found owing.

On the November 14 TG677 flight from Japan to Bangkok, Wallop checked in overweight luggage using Royal Orchid Plus gold card privileges.

He told the preliminary fact-finding committee that the excess luggage belonged to a woman named Pinjai Matsumoto, who was close to him and wanted to get the items on board under his name. Pruet Bhubhakam, THAI executive vice president for commercial affairs, was also a passenger on that flight and is being investigated for bringing in excess luggage.

The scandal has exposed deep conflicts among top THAI executives, with Wallop suggesting he was a victim of heavy-handed politics at the airline.

Under mounting pressure to quit, Wallop had requested a leave of absence from the board. He also denied an allegation that he had ordered the packages to be delivered to the lost-and-found department at Suvarnabhumi Airport in order to evade Customs inspection.

The normally vocal THAI labour union had played a big role in pressuring him, distributing stinging e-mails and organising black-dress protests. However, Wallop's admirers said that since he took office eight months ago, he played a part in the improvement of the airline's overall operation, with the company's yields reaching their highest level in the last quarter of 2009.