Chaiwat Satha-Anand, a professor of political science at Thammasat University, enjoys his walking stick. The academic uses this implement in order to compensate for a bad knee and carts it with him wherever he goes—even on Nok Airline flights.
Recently, after boarding such a flight, Nok Air staff told the professor that he would have to store his walking stick in the overhead compartment, rather than in a seat-front pouch, citing its possible use as a weapon.
To say Chaiwat reacted negatively to this is an understatement. The professor implied that he was being treated differently by the airline’s staff because of his Muslim background and, though eventually conceding to store his stick, flew into an epistolary rage soon after landing.
In a letter posted on the blog Prasong.com, Chaiwat took Nok Air chief executive Patee Sarasin to task for the alleged discrimination.
“I saw no point in the reason that keeping a walking stick in the overhead compartment will reduce any danger from it and its owner,” he wrote. “The best way was to keep it away from the passenger altogether if the airline believed it was dangerous.”
For Chaiwat, this complaint against Nok Air marks only the latest battle in an ongoing crusade. He has filed similar complaints against United, Austrian Airlines and Thai Airways International.
The Bangkok Post reports that Patee has responded that Nok Air’s policy regarding walking sticks is applied equally to all passengers, regardless of age, nationality or physical ability.
