"Suvarnabhumi is hell" screams Thailand's most famous English teacher

[Youlike]

3 hours ago, BestB said:

Went through donmuang just few days ago . Packed. Have signs chinese right, all others left. Naturally Chinese all go left . Mind you signs in chinese so no excuse for stupidity but no one did a thing and only every second desk manned . 

One day there was nobody at the chinese queue's so they told me to go there......thailand can do krub.

[stephen tracy]

8 hours ago, Orton Rd said:

I thought he was Australian!

Same thing, no?

[rleaton]

Whine and make excuses....then wonder why tourists are not coming!

[stephen tracy]

6 hours ago, Hotrudester said:

I visit 8-9 countries per year and take about 80 flights per annum. I have had this type of incident happen in many other countries including the UK (for my Thai wife). This celebrity was probably tired, hot, angry and so he mouths off. Why the big fuss and reaction. He is a very small fish in a very big pond. If you do not like what you have to put up with at times in the country you live in then simple-MOVE!! 

Yeah, just move. That's the solution. God forbid the authorities should ever actually address the issue. 

[Date Masamune]

He should fly stop complaining and fly Business class.

[sillyfool]

landed on the 17th after being away from thailand for 11 years. saw the line ups and felt really bad for everyone. booked an online fast track service before i landed. from the time i got off the plane until i cleared customs was no more than 10 minutes. most of the time was the walk up to the desk. 40 dollars well spent. 

cheers

[Swedenlars]

Jesus! Some of these people on this forum are truly certifiable WOW!!!! “We’re not human to them Thai people hate us all” LMAO [emoji23]. I’ve been treated with nothing but respect from almost every Thai person I’ve ever met including the immigration Officers. This post I’m replying to is just crazy. Have a drink or something jeez you don’t have to live in or visit Thailand if that’s how you feel. 

I think you are one of these guys making endless WAIS to every single Thai you encounter. That would probably include Taxi drivers, janitors, maids etc. By no means I'm trying to be disrespectful for these jobs. But hopefully you get my point. But do I have to become a ass kisser just because I'm an expat in Thailand ? Follow to law and rules, yes. The rest no. But for a Thai this is not enough.

 

Gesendet von meinem SM-N950F mit Tapatalk

 

 

 

[lkv]

9 minutes ago, sillyfool said:

landed on the 17th after being away from thailand for 11 years. saw the line ups and felt really bad for everyone. booked an online fast track service before i landed. from the time i got off the plane until i cleared customs was no more than 10 minutes. most of the time was the walk up to the desk. 40 dollars well spent. 

cheers

And how is that going to address the overcrowded airport issue and the bad management?

 

If everyone did the same, then they would wait one hour also at the fast track and with 40 dollars less in their pocket.

[SmartyMarty]

Easy fix....don't arrive in BKK. Transit there to another Thai airport and breeze through.

[sillyfool]

1 minute ago, lkv said:

And how is that going to address the overcrowded airport issue and the bad management?

 

If everyone did the same, then they would wait one hour also at the fast track and with 40 dollars less in their pocket.

there is no fixing the problem sunshine. you could open every single desk and there would still be huge lines. get used to it. 

 

 

[BritManToo]

23 minutes ago, sillyfool said:

there is no fixing the problem sunshine. you could open every single desk and there would still be huge lines. get used to it. 

 

Came through SUV about 3 months back, nobody in the main immigration area, VOA area was jam packed, Pass on to CNX booth had 1 person in front of me. Guess I've just been lucky.

Edited July 19, 2019 by BritManToo

[Dr No]

HeII I would say is an over reaction. Large crowds that could otherwise be avoided perhaps! It is what it is......with the exchange rate being so poor what is the rush to enter anyway ????

[zydeco]

13 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Came through DMK last week, was one or two people in front of me.

I/O didn't even speak to me, stamp, stamp through.

Hope you're not trying to encourage Mel52

[sillyfool]

16 minutes ago, BritManToo said:

Came through DMK last week, was one or two people in front of me.

I/O didn't even speak to me, stamp, stamp through.

isn't this thread about suvarnabhumi airport ? i am so confused. 

[BritManToo]

1 minute ago, sillyfool said:

isn't this thread about suvarnabhumi airport ? i am so confused. 

Yes changed my post to the last time I came through SUV.

I'm old, I'm allowed to post daft stuff.

You're right, I was wrong.

Edited July 19, 2019 by BritManToo

[sillyfool]

1 minute ago, BritManToo said:

Yes changed my post to the last time I came through SUV.

I'm old, I'm allowed to post daft stuff.

You're right, I was wrong.

fair enough ???? 

[smileydude]

The most productive way to take criticism is to not be defensive.  Thai’s are way too defensive and take things (especially about the country) way too personally.  Hey I’m Thai and yeah everyone loves their country and its true the queues in other countries that I’ve been to are sometimes like this but it doesn’t mean there isn’t room for improvement.

 

 

[plachon]

My recent experience coming in to Swampy - 25 mins Q to clear immigration. cf. return to London Heathrow - roughly 3 mins to clear immigration (E-passport) with no Q's to speak of. OK, there is a difference because I am a UK citizen, but all the same, Thai immigration has not kept up with increasing visitor numbers, and has added more processes, thus slowing processing time down considerably and yes, making the entry experience near "hell" at busy times. Less duty free and more immigration booths and quality facilities for travelers, like more seating and rest areas, would make the whole Swampy circus better for all. Also, increase the size of the food court on the first floor 4-fold would be a good start. ????

[Whyamiandwhatamidoinghere]

Well well... They used my photo I posted on July 11 th. Fancy that! Lol! ????

[Fairynuff]

Processing time at 50secs per passenger? Yeah right...not in my experience. Add to that the fact that rarely are more than half the desks operating and you can see why it often IS hell. If they don’t like it....do something to fix it.

[Sujo]

7 hours ago, mackayae said:

Simple.

Is that tokyo? I recall similar last time i was there. Everyone auto scanning with an assistant at each kiosk to help. Mine wouldnt scan so had to do usual imm control. Took 10 seconds for him to stamp.

[Kerryd]

I arrived in Suvarnabhumi a couple weeks ago on a flight from Manila.

Got to Immigration and queue was full to the beginning of the area (at the top of the ramp leading up). I was prepared for a 1-1/2 hour wait and pulled out my book.

 

Every couple of seconds I had to move up a bit. I barely had a couple pages read when I found myself at the front, having to decide which booth to line up in front of.

Wasn't long after that I was handing over my old and new passports to the IO (and showing him my re-entry permit and extension of stay stamps).

 

Got to the luggage carousel and our bags were already there. Headed towards Customs. I had 2 checked and 1 carry-on cases. A Customs guy flagged me towards the scanner and told me to put one bag on (any bag) so I put the 2nd largest one on the scanner. It came out the other side and I was waved on.

 

Got outside to meet my ride, got in the car, looked at the time.

 

ONE HOUR from the time I landed until I was putting my seatbelt on and leaving the terminal !!

I had to double check that as I didn't think it was possible. that I could have made it out of the airport that fast. I've done it before - when I was travelling business class with just a carry on bag and using the Fast Track lines but the last trip I was in economy and had a couple checked bags.

 

And considering I had just come from Manila, where I'd spend THREE HOURS at the International Transfer desk (along with about 150 or so other people) before they finally managed to get us to the Departure area. Total cluster f***. We all had our passports and boarding passes, but the people running the International Transfer desk didn't seem to have a clue what they were supposed to do. They'd take passports and boarding passes from some people, or just boarding passes from others. Photocopy some passports and send some to another counter so someone could scan them or something. I saw one girl match some photocopies to passports (inserting the correct copy into the correct passport) then another girl took the completed stack and started pulling all the photocopies out and stacking them, only to have another girl take the photocopies and start matching them up with the passports again !!!!

I was standing 5 feet away watching this in complete disbelief. There were 8 women in that area and it seems not one of them knew what they were supposed to be doing, but they all were trying to do something !

 

At one point 4 girls waded into the crowd, each holding a stack of passports, and started calling out names (all at the same time of course). They were having problems pronouncing a lot of the Asian names apparently as I watched them try to call out some names for people who were standing right in front of them but couldn't understand what they were saying. Eventually they managed to hand everyone's passport back (or so it seems).

Then a few minutes later they did it again but this time with the boarding passes. However they didn't hand those back, they just split the group up into smaller groups.
I was getting a bit concerned as they hadn't called my name. They never took my passport but they did take my boarding pass. When I was trying to speak with one of the girls at the desk I happened to see my boarding pass, half hidden under a keyboard and stack of paper. I pointed it out to one of the girls and she pulled it out and gave it to one of the girls that had been calling names to divide up the main group.

Then they started herding us towards a temporary security screening post set up at the bottom of a stairwell. Then we were told to go up the stairs and wait. Then one girl gathered our small group and took us to a Departure gate to wait some more. Then then finally sent us down an escalator (with our boarding passes given back finally) and onto a bus to go to the other terminal where we went through another security check and finally into the Departure area.
 

I had 6 hours from the time I landed until my next flight. When I was finally in the right terminal/departure area, I had 3 hours.

Suvarnabhumi was a very pleasant experience by comparison to the airport in Manila ! 

[crickets]

Never waited more than 3 mins at Melbourne airport.

[newnative]

Absolutely no excuse for long lines.  If they have 8 things to do then it is obvious they need more booths to handle the crowds.  They're making a ton of money and can easily afford to hire more staff.  Very bad management--just so basic to look at the landing schedules and you know how many passengers are coming and how much staff you need.  Pathetic.  

[elliss]

13 hours ago, neeray said:

This is just not good for the image of Thailand !!!

 

      Why are so many people coming to Thailand , what is the attraction? .

       Apart from cheap  sex , with lady younger more .

          That said ...i only came for the  elephant treks , and watts ..

 

 

 

Edited July 19, 2019 by elliss

[elliss]

8 minutes ago, newnative said:

Absolutely no excuse for long lines.  If they have 8 things to do then it is obvious they need more booths to handle the crowds.  They're making a ton of money and can easily afford to hire more staff.  Very bad management--just so basic to look at the landing schedules and you know how many passengers are coming and how much staff you need.  Pathetic.  

 

       Farlang must wait in long lines , for the privilege of entering the kingdom..

 

 

Edited July 19, 2019 by elliss

[Whyamiandwhatamidoinghere]

48 minutes ago, Sujo said:

Is that tokyo? I recall similar last time i was there. Everyone auto scanning with an assistant at each kiosk to help. Mine wouldnt scan so had to do usual imm control. Took 10 seconds for him to stamp.

Looks like immigration in Seattle. 

[fleur3]

12 hours ago, dcsw53 said:

IATA moved the goalposts. Fingerprints now required = more time required = need for more desks. Build them.

iata required fingerprint ? Visiting many countries in europe. Never seen that. Maybe because many crooks want to enter thailand. But even then, it is not iata that decides on that

[fleur3]

6 hours ago, sawadee1947 said:

I think there are 9 things to do: looking at your mobile and chatting with friends.

(8 things to do,.......but it's only ONE click on the PC...)

never seen an immigrationofficer at the airport looking at mobile!! Misplaced comment

[Jim P]

Can you still get a premium meet & greet service or did they stop after the discovery of abuse of the system?