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

[Crustyhk]

I don’t get all this fuss. The guy stated a fact. He didn’t make up derogatory stories he just posted what was really going on. 

Seems some people have very thin skins and with dire tourism figures it might be time to take the criticism seriously instead of shooting the messenger. 

[Banana7]

Absolutely pathetic service from Thai Immigration. Whoever is in charge of BKK airport should be demoted and fired and maybe even imprisoned for dereliction of duty. Ridiculous excuses for not providing reasonable or adequate service.  

[BobBKK]

They don't care as the entrance to Heaven is obviously long.

As for 7 booths 'empty' they are having 'attitude adjustment' lessons in the seminar room (they smiled at a Farang).

[spidermike007]

He said all officers, including supervisors of the shift, were normally stationed at all counters to help speed up clearance, but sometimes supervisors had to leave their counters to solve problems of other officers and this might have prompted Biggs to think that the counters were vacant without officials, Choengron said. He said Immigration Bureau acting commissioner Lt-General Sompong Chingduang had heeded Biggs’s messages and attached importance to the posts as they could affect the bureau’s image. The spokesman added that the bureau had contingency plans to handle the overwhelming number of passengers arriving at the same time. For example, officials resting after their shifts are called in urgently to help, and volunteers are also called in to advise passengers on filling the immigration forms.

 

This is completely false and misleading information. I have never once seen all lines open at Swampy. Never even close. They have hundreds of agents who could staff those lines, and there is never an excuse for lines that long. Never. Ever. 

 

It is true that there are very long lines in other countries. In LA, I have been subjected to hour long queues, just getting out of the airport on international flights. For the most part, the TSA seems to be grossly underfunded and understaffed. Lately, coming in has been far better.

 

But, there is never a justification for the immigration lines to extend beyond the ramp where you turn towards immigration, coming into Swampy. Never. That is completely beyond the pale. They have plenty of lines to handle tourists, and most of the time more than half are closed. They have plenty of agents, and they have the schedules, so they know when additional agents are needed. All else is just an excuse, and very, very weak deflection from people who just cannot handle criticism on any level. Man up. Do your job correctly, and we will not complain. Otherwise, deal with it

 

 

[StayinThailand2much]

6 minutes ago, brucegoniners said:

There are always lots of counters closed. They obviously take lunch at noon and half of there staff is gone. Same thing happened to me at noon last time I came in.

It has been like that at least since 1997 (Don Muang) when I travelled here for the first time. I have been in and out numerous times, and at both Bangkok airports I've never seen more than 70% of the counters manned at any time.

[The Man Who Sold the World]

Sorry - I didn't read twenty six pages of replies - perhaps/probably mentioned already.

 

It is Thai Customs and Immigration's responsibility to see that their operations are ADEQUATELY staffed. Airline schedules and manifests are available.

 

So, want to stop receiving "Black Eyes" do your job - Staff Correctly.  

[phil2407]

I think someone is telling porky pies here! If only 1 hour for AB that's not bad considering its Thailand- I've experienced 2 hours plus at swampy

If AB can prove well over an hour then the officials are to blame allegedly if not all hearsay etc 

[Sydebolle]

I assume that the queues in question are on the "alien" part of the immigration counters. 

Did ever anyone think to facilitate/simplify the procedure. Some countries swipe the passport through the OCR-reading device which allows eventual facts to pop up on the officer's screen. At the same time they could scan the TM-6 card and the software combines that. Based on the OCR-strip the name, nationality, date of birth etc. are readable without mistake. 

I sit on a PR status and am appalled by the fact, who much bureaucracy is involved with each and every crossing of the border. Why not stamp the endorsement/re-entry permit into the passport and lock the passport details to the record. Swipe my passport through and "voilà", everything is there. Stamp if you want to stamp although it does not make sense - as stamping a Thai passport by Thai immigration; the details are anyhow in the computer. Certain European countries do not stamp passports of their nationals to avoid filling up the passport with unnecessary stamps. 

All this would facilitate arrival and departure for the travellers but would make thousands of stampers and grouchy looking officers redundant and someone has to patronize the poorly education positioned in "important" positions - like immigration officers ???? 

[whitfield]

Queues would be halved if the officers had their phones confiscated before sitting in the booth.  Every time I’ve been through in recent years I have to wait while he finishes messaging the mia noi.

[Guderian]

Just for comparison, does anybody know how long non-EU/EEA nationals have to queue for at Immigration in, say, London Heathrow? I whiz through the biometric gates so never have much time to look around, but there always seems to be a vast queue of people looking pretty unhappy in the non-EU/EEA arrivals section. I don't hear the Thais complaining about their Immigration facilities at Swampy, so maybe the bad experience we non-Thais often have at the airport is just the corollary of how we treat them at places like London? Just wondering, that's all.

[Fex Bluse]

40 minutes ago, Crustyhk said:

I don’t get all this fuss. The guy stated a fact. He didn’t make up derogatory stories he just posted what was really going on. 

Seems some people have very thin skins and with dire tourism figures it might be time to take the criticism seriously instead of shooting the messenger. 

In my own personal experience, Thais have THE MOST fragile egos and thin skin of any people in the dozens of countries I've visited, lived in and workes in. 

 

I have yet to visit North Korea, though, so... 

[bander]

19 hours ago, webfact said:

He said their inquiry found that Biggs had waited for about an hour to pass through an immigration counter.

 

He said Biggs used a Bus gate, coming by a bus from his plane to the arrival terminal at 1.01pm. He said Biggs started waiting in his queue at 1.06pm and he passed through the counter at 2:06pm.

The surveillance of Mr. Biggs was excellent, how about using that surveillance software to find criminals and unwanted individuals and get them out og the queue and into a interrogation room? 

[ubon farang]

Sydney International Brisbane international Australia  They have all the modern stuff to get you through quick In fact you dont even need an immigration official to be looking at your passport unless there is a problem. If thailand wants the tourists they must get modern otherwise people will not just come back

[Stoker58]

Queueing for one hour is never acceptable. 

Also, it’s physically impossible for 20 flights to arrive “at the same time”.

[Whyamiandwhatamidoinghere]

19 hours ago, Surasak said:

On 7/19/2019 at 9:54 AM, Hawkman said:

 

Hmmm. At which point did Andrew Briggs call Thai people hell? He said the queues were hell for tourists, you idiot.

That's right. The problem started when the Thais who criticized Mr Biggs failed in English grammar comprehension. Then spread 'their own' truth based on error. ???? 

[scorecard]

IMHO this is simple:

 

I've been in and out of Changi over 200 Times (for years years lived in bkk, at least 2 day trips to S'pre and back every week).

 

Longest wait 15 minutes. And S'pore Changi airport has enormous aircraft / passenger traffic. 

 

Can be done. Somehow here nobody completes the planning nor get it right.

 

 

[Megascott]

Last 2 years when I worked in India and travelled bi-weekly to Thailand to visit my Thai wife, I have only waited at DMK for more than 45 minutes on two occasions. When they first segregated the Chinese line from the Foreigner line that did absolutely nothing, as the Chinese just get into any line. The biggest time wasters I can see is when people do not fill out their CM6 properly, or even at all, though my observation is that most Chinese tour services do a pretty good job of ensuring that their customers do it properly. The other problem is people (mostly clueless Indians) with VISA on Arrival that get into the regular line and then argue about it with the IO, since now they have to fill out a paper and wait in yet another line, even though the VOA line is usually short and fast.

[shaurene]

Come on Biggs, you should know better. Busy time 12 Noon and 2pm. shit that is lunch time. There is NOTHING that would stop Thai most important time of the day. Even the top commanders would NOT be able to be found. 

I thought you knew the Holy Times of the day. You are not to smart Mate. 

Go back and Finnish your Thai education. 

[Gandtee]

1 hour ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

20+ years ago and you'd be right. 

 

I sort of feel sorry for all these greenhorns that have just arrived like @Mel52, they missed out on when Thailand was an amazing place. Full of wonder and excitement. 

 

We are cynical because we have seen the changes, we know it was much better before, and we don't like the way it is headed. 

 

The Thais can't con us with their BS about biometrics and fingerprints, good guys in etc., because we know they are full of it. 

 

Many of us chose Thailand because of the freedoms... many of those freedoms now sadly eroded and the erosion cheered on by the happy-clappers into what is fast becoming an unpleasant place to be as a foreigner. 

I agree. 34 years ago it was a place of wonder. For me the erosion of this began when on the beach in Pattaya the grass roofed salas were pulled down and replaced with plastic umbrellas. My comment then was that they are destroying what tourists come to see. They have now succeeded in the near competion of this destruction. Thank goodness I was here to see it and enjoy it as it was. 

[stewartthailand]

Came through on Thursday 18/7 . Arrived at immigration at 13.45 no extended queues and I was through in time to catch 14.00 Jomtien bus (admittedly it was 10 mins late departure). Also fingerprint machine was switched off.

[StayinThailand2much]

1 hour ago, MikeN said:

Went to Hong Kong last year, about three quarters of the immigration counters were open with about 4 or 5 people waiting at each one. As we walked up to the queue 2 officers rushed over to open the next counters, and apologised for the delay ! Cannot imagine that ever happening here ....

HCMC airport, IOs change shift at 7 p.m.; salute the tourists(!!), takes 2 minutes to start processing passports again. (IOs very professional and friendly.) Most efficient and quick passport control in my experience in Asia: Vietnam (HCMC), China, then Hong Kong, followed by Malaysia. In Singapore I had to wait almost 30min. in a queue, but may have been a one-off (passed there through PP control only once)...

[jmccarty]

To Get in an Out of KL immigration can be just as long or longer.

[poohy]

Flew in a few months ago (end of April)  arrived 3pm on a Friday afternoon massive queues took over an hour to get through...and This was before fingerprinting

 

Must be fun now!

[Mel52]

I’ve been to 102 countries. Bangkok has the slowest immigration I’ve experienced by far. 
 
All airports can get backed up. It happens. But it happens all the time here. That’s the difference.

Just think of it as waiting in line at Disney Land the lines are literally the same LMAO [emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23][emoji23]

[Bangkok Barry]

20 hours ago, Megasin1 said:

I have never experienced such awkward deliberate slowness

 

Absolutely right. The last three times I have come into Thaiiand, the last time even when I left, the IO slowly went through every page of my passport, including the blank ones, despite me having a multi-entry marriage visa. I think the only reason they do that is as a form of intimidation and to suggest they have the power to make trouble for you if they wish. One also spent time asking why I was coming to Thailand and where I was staying, despite the fact I had written my address on the form and ticked the right box on the back. Perhaps he didn't understand the form.

When I enter Beijing, at the immigration desk they have a choice of buttons to press so you can rate their service. It's perfectly clear why they don't have such a system in Thailand, isn't it.

[Mel52]

I’ve been to 102 countries. Bangkok has the slowest immigration I’ve experienced by far. 
 
All airports can get backed up. It happens. But it happens all the time here. That’s the difference.

Seriously because more tourists and other people travel to Thailand every single day then pretty much any other country in Asia and possibly the world. Thailand is popular it’s as simple as that, and yeah they probably do need to build a few new terminals to accommodate everyone a bigger airport. Suvarnabhumi airport has always been EXTREMELY crowded since I first started coming here ten years ago for the same reasons. So again like I said it’s not some vast government conspiracy against all the white people of the world lol [emoji23] and no it’s not because they hate us as a lot of these other posts suggest and flat out say, they have some real crazies posting on here. Now I see who the kind of people are that come over here and cause trouble. Probably a lot of the people posting on this forum.

But like I said think of it as waiting in line for a ride at Disney Land. [emoji23]

[Bangkok Barry]

47 minutes ago, Gandtee said:

 

The Thais can't con us with their BS

 

And that is exactly why they don't want long-term expats here. If you come as a tourist you might be able to escape with your rose-tinted glasses still intact, but the longer you stay the more you get to know what a totally dysfunctional place it is, and the authorities don't like that.

[DrTuner]

8 minutes ago, Bangkok Barry said:

When I enter Beijing, at the immigration desk they have a choice of buttons to press so you can rate their service. It's perfectly clear why they don't have such a system in Thailand, isn't it.

In the land of smiles it would only have the smiley millenial style buttons, i.e. 'Awesome!','Insane!','Mad!'

[DrTuner]

1 minute ago, Bangkok Barry said:

And that is exactly why they don't want long-term expats here. If you come as a tourist you might be able to escape with your rose-tinted glasses still intact, but the longer you stay the more you get to know what a totally dysfunctional place it is, and the authorities don't like that.

It's indeed hard to spin it when there's a batallion of TVF commentators ready to pounce with the posts about the reality on the ground. We must irritate them greatly. Makes me all fuzzy and warm inside.

[Mel52]

True. 
 
As we all know, for many Thais, it's NEVER their fault. Fault is placed furthest from them and moves closer with each excuse but never lands on them. 
 
"We have too many things to do" 
 
"There are too many (foreign) tourists" 
 
"The (foreign) computers are too slow" 
 
"Too many planes came at once" 
 
"The (foreign) scanners are not good" 
 
"We already setup food stalls in the queues so tourists can snack while waiting in line" 
 
"My fingers (not me, not my essence) won't work fast enough" 
 
"It's too hard (not just for me but too hard for anyone anywhere)" 
 
"Other (foreign) passport control is also like this (in other words, nobody is better than us)" 

Because almost every thing you just listed is pretty much true and actually is most of the reason why the lines are so long. They’re one of the busiest airports in the world!!! I don’t understand how people don’t get that Thailand literally has one of the busiest airports in the world and people wonder why the lines are long, it’s amazing it doesn’t take longer. You know now that I think about it I have always heard people complaining about the airport in almost every major city I’ve ever been to. You’re at the airport NOT McDonalds!!! I feel like I’m taking crazy pills reading all these posts!!!