"Sia Nu" is furious, saying one rotten fish spoils the whole barrel after a female flight attendant was caught smuggling drugs into Australia. He has ordered an urgent meeting to prevent the aviation hub's image from being destroyed.
On 1 July 2026, following the scandal after the Australian Federal Police (AFP) arrested a Thai Airways flight attendant for smuggling heroin hidden in a cloth bag, as well as a case involving foreigners carrying drugs from Thailand to Australia around the same time, Prime Minister and Interior Minister Anutin Charnvirakul, who is currently on a mission in France, expressed strong dissatisfaction with the incident. He noted it severely damages the country's image and trust, especially at a time when the government is pushing to establish Thailand as a regional Aviation Hub and aims to join the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) by 2028.
The Prime Minister has issued an urgent cross-border order to convene all agencies involved in drug enforcement, together with Airports of Thailand Public Company Limited (AOT), to urgently discuss measures to prevent and resolve the problem. The meeting is scheduled for the afternoon of Friday, 3 July 2026, to establish strict measures to prevent any recurrence of incidents that would further damage the country's reputation.