Bangkok airport: Departing passengers share earthquake experiences, fear stranded return home

Deepline

2025.03.30 16:24

The arrivals hall is less crowded than usual. (DotDotNews)

A powerful earthquake of magnitude 7.9 struck Myanmar on March 28, causing heavy casualties. Nearby Thailand was also affected by the quake, with buildings collapsed or damaged. DotDotNews' correspondents landed in Bangkok at noon today (March 30) to get a first-hand look at the latest situation in Thailand and Myanmar.

Although Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport has returned to normal, the departure hall is still crowded, but the arrivals hall is less crowded than usual, and there is no need to queue up at the cab stand, there are a lot of cabs waiting for passengers, and the number of travelers is relatively small.

Reporters at the airport waiting hall interviewed a number of travelers about to leave Bangkok, a number of travelers expressed concern about the earthquake.

Andy, a Thai, said he had just arrived in Bangkok from Chiang Mai and did not expect to experience the earthquake, but he felt a strong tremor that day, as if she was drunk. Afterwards, he realized it was an earthquake. Another Thai, Lorraine, said that on the day of the earthquake in a Bangkok market, there was a distinct feeling about the quake. She thought it was a mistake and later found that people around him felt the tremor, and then everyone began to panic.

Mali and Makoto, tourists from Japan, were in a hotel in Bangkok on the day of the earthquake. Makoto said he was sleeping and didn't feel anything. He said he was used to earthquakes because he was from Japan, while Mali thought it was a bit dangerous, and that earthquakes like the one in Bangkok, where the tremor was clearly felt, were rare, and that passers-by on the street were more frightened and drove very fast.

Ms. Jiang, a tourist, said that on the day of the earthquake in the scenic areas around Bangkok, the tremor was not strong, but the waves were very large that day. She was worried about not being able to go back to her country, and rushed to the airport to leave Bangkok at the end of her trip today.