Thai Airways Blacks Out Logo After Runway Accident

An Airbus Thai Airways plane. Image from Flickr user Aero Icarus, (CC BY-SA 2.0)

An Airbus Thai Airways plane. Image from Flickr user Aero Icarus, (CC BY-SA 2.0)

A Thai Airways plane skidded off the runway at Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok last Sunday after it suffered a landing-gear failure. The plane which departed from Guangzhou, China carried 288 passengers and 14 cabin crew. According to the airline, 14 passengers received minor injuries.

But it was the airline decision to cover the plane logo with a black paint in an apparent bid to protect its image which made the global headlines. The airline claimed that it was standard “crisis communication rule”. However, the global airline network Star Alliance denied that it has a policy of covering up plane logos during accidents:

This was subsequently confirmed by Thai Airways

Covering the Thai Airways logo with a black paint. Image from @RichardBarrow

Covering the Thai Airways logo with a black paint. Image from @RichardBarrow

This video was taken after the landing accident:

Below are some reactions on Twitter

Some passengers have complained that they received little assistance from airline personnel after the accident. But airline officials have denied this accusation.

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