Suvarnabhumi immigration departure delays.

[phetphet]

Not departed from BKK for years. Always go through Immigration at Samui airport. However, next weekend I will have to leave the country from Suvarnabhumi.

 

I remember reading a while ago that there were terrible delays and queues to be processed out by Thai Immigration. Does anyone know if this is still the case?

 

If so. How much extra time should I allow myself to get through?  Can't find anything recent online.

 

TIA

[impulse]

I left last Friday around midnight and was first in line.  Total around 30 seconds.

 

Your mileage may vary.

 

Edit: To be clear, that was Friday just over a week ago.

 

Edited October 3, 2017 by impulse

[KhunBENQ]

2 hours ago, phetphet said:

Can't find anything recent online.

Good news rarely make headlines.

I have checked departure queues on four occasions in August and September around noon to 2 PM.

Nothing noteworthy.

Some queues maybe up to 10 people.

A mate has left last night (2:40h AM to Dubai).

Forgot to ask him.

But at least he didn't loose a word about any problems in Suv.

[craigt3365]

I left in August and the queue for immigration was backed way past the top of the escalators.  It was insane.  This was around noon.

 

Going through the initial security check was fast.  It all broke down after that. LOL.

 

But coming back, nary a person in front of me!

[mushroomdave]

1 hour ago, craigt3365 said:

I left in August and the queue for immigration was backed way past the top of the escalators.  It was insane.  This was around noon.

 

Going through the initial security check was fast.  It all broke down after that. LOL.

 

But coming back, nary a person in front of me!

Same here.....left early August / late morning-noon / quick security / and top of the escalators!!!!

[Lee4Life]

I have gone out a couple of times in the last few months, hardly any wait at all but have been redeye flights

[sandrabbit]

I left 3 weeks ago and there were 5 people in front of me in immigration at about 10 am and on return a week later on returning at about 10am again there were about 4 in front of me.

[malt25]

I left 3 weeks ago. Went through immigration 9pm. Only a few in front of me.

[likeke]

I was in BKK a few weeks ago and there was no delay both ways. Maybe 5-6 people in each line. Piece of cake. 

[newnative]

Went through twice a week or so ago, late morning and early afternoon.  Both times took about 40 minutes. All the booths were staffed.

[pby92]

Depends if you leave on Saturday or Sunday will be longer as tourists go back home during weekends around 25 peoples in the queu in front each booth around 10 pm Saturday /Sunday night .Whole process after luggage’s registration one hour.

[gmac]

15 hours ago, impulse said:

I left last Friday around midnight and was first in line.  Total around 30 seconds.

 

Your mileage may vary.

 

Edit: To be clear, that was Friday just over a week ago.

 

Friday seems a good day to travel I left on a Friday a month ago and no queues at all, that was around 8 or 9 in the morning.

[Cranky]

Totally unpredictable.  I've had good, bad and horrendous in the past 6 months or so.  Check in as soon as you can and hope for the best.

[impulse]

20 minutes ago, Cranky said:

Totally unpredictable.  I've had good, bad and horrendous in the past 6 months or so.  Check in as soon as you can and hope for the best.

 

True.  I take the same flight to the same city every time, checking in around midnight and it can be nobody in line, or a zoo.   Same coming back to Thailand.  (There's only one non-stop flight each day from the city I visit in China)   Last time, virtually no line and since I didn't check bags, I was off the flight and in a taxi in 15 minutes.  The time before, it took well over 2 hours- and I half expected to find that someone had filched my bag, on the carousel for over an hour.

 

The times that really get me steaming are when the line is short but it still takes forever, possibly because there's a new edict to scrutinize them better.  But that's the price paid for international travel.

 

Edited October 4, 2017 by impulse

[hawker9000]

I think the really bad situations, at Suv. at least, are episodic, not usually long-lasting (i.e., more than a few days), and difficult to predict beforehand.  I've seen it really bad - bad enough that flights were being missed - exactly one time in almost 30 years (and so know how bad it can get), but don't come and go as frequently as some here who'll therefore have encountered it more often.   Generally, I've found that if you arrive at or near the counter-opening time for your flight (usually abt 3 hours prior), you have no problems.   That one time for me, I made my flight, barely, and there wasn't much I could've done except maybe jump the line (which some were doing).   I've also just occasionally seen airport staffers at Suv. roaming the queues looking for people for certain flights to get them to the head of the line or to a counter that had been opened to expedite them.

 

 

[malt25]

29 minutes ago, hawker9000 said:

I think the really bad situations, at Suv. at least, are episodic, not usually long-lasting (i.e., more than a few days), and difficult to predict beforehand.  I've seen it really bad - bad enough that flights were being missed - exactly one time in almost 30 years (and so know how bad it can get), but don't come and go as frequently as some here who'll therefore have encountered it more often.   Generally, I've found that if you arrive at or near the counter-opening time for your flight (usually abt 3 hours prior), you have no problems.   That one time for me, I made my flight, barely, and there wasn't much I could've done except maybe jump the line (which some were doing).   I've also just occasionally seen airport staffers at Suv. roaming the queues looking for people for certain flights to get them to the head of the line or to a counter that had been opened to expedite them.

 

 

Have to agree. I've often seen staff looking for passengers needing to get to the front of the line. Pretty good service actually.

[goonnerone]

21 hours ago, phetphet said:

Not departed from BKK for years. Always go through Immigration at Samui airport. However, next weekend I will have to leave the country from Suvarnabhumi.

 

I remember reading a while ago that there were terrible delays and queues to be processed out by Thai Immigration. Does anyone know if this is still the case?

 

If so. How much extra time should I allow myself to get through?  Can't find anything recent online.

 

TIA

Came back to the UK last week and there was about 5 min delay 

[Senior Player]

I think it all depends on the time of your departure. Recently I had a morning flight (approximately 10am) and the queues were very long, took 40 minutes to clear immigration. If your flight happens to be around midnight, then you can count yourself fortunate as the queues are pretty nonexistent at this hour. On my most recent departure (last week) I cleared security and immigration within 10-15 minutes at midnight. Pick a midnight departure if possible is my own recommendation.

[moobie]

As others have said it depends on time of day, holiday periods, etc.

 

My usual Emirates flight for the UK via Dubai leaves around 1am or thereabouts. This past July I was through check-in, security and immigration in around 20 minutes. (I'd arrived in the airport 3 hours in advance of flight.) In contrast, the same flight and routine in early January (where I'd allowed 2 hours in advance of flight) I had to race to get to the gate on time. It seemed Chinese tourists were also flying out enmasse and it was chaotic. From the escalators leading to security to immigration was a scrum rather than a queue. And at immigration itself bedlam ensued as many had failed to bring their immigration card with them and were sent "back" to fill one in. I hope that your experience is of the former and not the latter.