- By Ajeet Kumar
- Thu, 29 Jan 2026 04:27 PM (IST)
- Source:JND
In a bizarre incident, a Thai AirAsia Flight FD3116 from Bangkok's Don Mueang International Airport to Hat Yai nearly departed without 23 of its 136 passengers, who were left stranded aboard a shuttle bus. According to the airlines, the blunder occurred due to a serious miscommunication between ground and cabin staff.
What happened?
The Airbus A320 aircraft had already begun taxiing toward the runway for its scheduled 7:10 a.m. departure when the oversight came to light. An elderly passenger, affectionately called "Auntie Ya" in social media accounts, alerted the cabin crew that her friend, who had checked in and was assigned a seat next to her, had not yet boarded.
Now Everyone can Fly, but some may be Left Behind
— Thai Enquirer (@ThaiEnquirer) January 29, 2026
Thai Air Asia is in the news once again and this was due to the fact that it left as many as 23 passengers in a bus and started to ‘taxi’ to the runway before being informed that 23 of its passengers were still travelling in a… pic.twitter.com/cLn9GKKjyg
Despite the alert, the crew initially seemed unaware of the issue. Only after the concerned passenger insisted and the crew contacted the missing group by phone was it confirmed that 23 passengers remained on the shuttle bus, which had not been instructed to allow them to disembark.
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No final headcount perfomed
No final headcount had been performed before pushback, and there was no proactive verification for all checked-in passengers, as claimed on a social media post. The captain ordered the plane to return to the gate around 7:45 am, roughly 36 minutes past the scheduled departure time. The boarding door was reopened, and the stranded passengers were finally allowed to board.
The entire incident caused a delay exceeding two hours, pushing the flight's actual departure much later. A passenger from the affected group shared the ordeal in a Facebook post on January 28, 2026, crediting "Auntie Ya" for speaking up and ensuring the group could board and "reclaim their rights."
Thai AirAsia issued an official statement on Wednesday, acknowledging that the delay resulted from a "coordination and communication error" among staff. The airline expressed regret, confirmed it had conducted an internal investigation, and stated that appropriate disciplinary or corrective actions were taken in accordance with company policy. It also pledged to introduce stricter oversight and improved protocols to avoid similar incidents in the future. No details were provided on compensation for the delayed passengers.