4 hours ago, adammike said:

Schipol has  warned of long waits during summer holiday peaks 

allow three hours to get checked in through passport control and security exactly as the thai authorities have done,they are going to train unarmed police to man passport control!!! you might want to have a go at the Chinese it's them leaving that will mess it up,read a story of a Chinese women climbing into a x-ray machine because she did not want to leave her ? for a second.

LHR is a nightmare

11 hours ago, ezzra said:

As far as immigration procedures concerns, Thailand in that regard still stuck in the 19th

century and acting like one of those derided communist countries where a stern looking

official is looking closely at you and your travel documents and permits and than if all

well put that ink chop in your passport, for a country that take in dozens of millions

of tourists and other travelers a year, surly a better system is well overdue,

having said that, and if a new system will be introduced, what will be become of

the many thousand of the immigrations personals?....

Back to the rice fields where they belong.... 

2 hours ago, dddave said:

I've mentioned this before but it's worth repeating:

A Suvarnabhumi, when you approach the incline leading to the immigration area, look for 3 TV monitors at the base of the incline.  These monitors show all 3 immigration areas.  It is not unusual for one to be backed-up and the adjoining area to be almost empty.  If your initial area is backed-up, just keep walking in the same direction, about 200 meters and you may get through a lot quicker.

 

Basically, Area A aligns with baggage carousels  1-8, Area B: 9-15, Area C, 16-22

 

 

I think Area A/Exit A corresponds to baggage carousels 1-5, and is used exclusively for Domestic Arrivals. 

 

There are two primary International Arriving Immigration Halls (East/#1 and West/#3), with a FastTrack/VIP (#2) mini-hall in between.

 

You need a FastTrack card to utilize the Fast/Track/VIP arriving immigration hall.

 

The East Hall (#1) corresponds to baggage carousels 6-15 (Customs Exit B), while the West Hall (#3) corresponds to baggage carousels 16-23 (Customs Exit C). You can move freely in this area, accessing any carousel 6-23 and either Customs exit, B or C.

 

Yes, there are monitors showing the queues, and owing to the specific timing of arrivals and concourse (C/D/E/F/G), one hall may have shorter lines. Very generally speaking, the East Hall may have shorter lines as there are fewer (int'l arrival) gates on that side, but I think the remote stand/bus gate dumps pax directly opposite this hall so it can be 50-50. Obviously, if an A380 has just disgorged 600 pax you may well be met with a mass of people filling up what looked to be an empty hall a minute before.

 

IMLE, even the FastTrack can take longer because there are fewer desks/IOs there, and more people trying the DYKWIA act.

I thought the message was for people leaving,allow at least three hours,nothing to do with arrivals.

'On the road again'. local news: 400.000.000 Chinese.

Whatever  happens,  glad I  will  not  be  there.

Should chug some much needed smoke in to the Bangkok atmos.  Good job!

Swampy/Thailand overrun by Chinese tourists...sounds ghastly. Hopefully the Thais will figure it out that it doesn't benefit them really and react accordingly.

I hope they're ready to queue up at imm. control after their long flights, squeeze into the airport link train or queue up again for a taxi, have the patience to explain to him where they're going and have the luck that he actually knows the place/way AND don't get stuck in Bangkok traffic... 

Welcome to Thailand ! 

I know my way around now, but I wouldn't be impressed if it were my first visit... things/service/value for money have deteriorated in my opinion. 

8 hours ago, mikebell said:

When, after a two hour wait to clear Immigration, many will be going into Bangkok.  It took me three hours to get from BKK to downtown because of the horrendous traffic jams shortly after leaving the airport which continued right into the city centre.  You are charged three times to use toll roads which should give you trouble-free motoring but crawls (if you're lucky.)  Then you hit the smog!

It will be a long time before I go again; they say it will take 11 years for the air quality to become safe by which time I will be 86!

These days I just use the Airport Rail Link, to avoid exactly this.  Takes at most 60 minutes to my apartment in the Chidlom area and it's more comfortable than sitting in a taxi with too low roof.  Best of all, no traffic jams.

Edited February 18, 20188 yr by ChidlomDweller

6 hours ago, Dumbastheycome said:

Whatever  happens,  glad I  will  not  be  there.

Quite. I have no quarrel with the Chinese, but I do have a problem with a packed-to-the-gills Suvarnabhumi. It's a bloody nightmare if you arrive at the wrong time.

Came through departures at 11, Check in 5 minutes, straight through security and about 50 minutes for passport control. Not good but not as bad as feared but still 4 out of 10 passport control booths empty. Busiest day in the history of this airport and working at only 60% capacity.

4 minutes ago, johnsnapo said:

Came through departures at 11, Check in 5 minutes, straight through security and about 50 minutes for passport control. Not good but not as bad as feared but still 4 out of 10 passport control booths empty. Busiest day in the history of this airport and working at only 60% capacity.

50 minutes just to leave is pretty piss poor. So much for Thailand 4.0.

On 2/18/2018 at 1:12 AM, dddave said:

Just more knee-jerk Thai bashing with zero basis in fact.

Returned from Frankfurt 2 days ago, A380 without an empty seat.  All 3 immigration areas were well staffed and despite hoards of passengers coming in from both ends, I was stamped through Immigration in 10 minutes which, BTW, is ten minutes less than I had to wait in queue at Frankfurt Immigration a few days before.

Yes, those Germans cant organise anything.