CityNews – A father is in a rage after the airport charged him for first aid service, following an injury his son incurred at the airport.
A Facebook account under the name Ken Wuttipong shared an upsetting story over an incident which occurred to the account holder’s family on January 5th. He explained that he was picking up his wife at Chiang Mai International Airport with his children, a 5 year old daughter and a 3 year old son. They were crossing the road from the exit number two when his son stepped onto a screw which was lying on the ground. The screw impaled his son’s foot through his shoe, causing him to bleed. He went to notify the airport security, who took them to the infirmary. After his son was patched up, the nurse suggested they to go to the hospital before charging them 100 baht for the service. The incident triggered Ken Wuttipong to share this incident on his Facebook. “I was furious. We were using the airport service and my son is injured by the recklessness of the airport, having screws littering on the ground. And I have to pay for the treatment?”
He stated that the nurse told him that the charge was due to a recently changed policy. But Ken wondered on Facebook what the airport tax was paid for, if not for covering such incidents. “I wouldn’t take my son to the infirmary if I knew there was a fee because I’d take my son to the hospital anyway,” stated Ken.
On January 8th, Lieutenant Junior Grade Thananrat Prasertsri, the deputy director of Chiang Mai International Airport stated that the infirmary has been upgraded recently to be equal in standards and services to a small private clinic fully equipped with basic life support, CPR, AED, and medicines. Hence, the charge. The policy for the fee started on the 2nd of this month.
Wasarut Rujanapong, a physician at the airport, stated there are exemptions in such cases as someone’s life is in imminent danger, or an accident occurs at the airport, which in this case appears to be the case. He said that the airport can refund the payment via the insurance company.