Slow Moving Queues At Airport

[begsaresponse]

We arrived back into Thailand after a great holiday in Vietnam. So as usual its 'sods law' as to which line you join to get through customs. And yes we were in the line where a numbers of people had not completed their arrival card!!

The customs officer allowed them to stand and complete the arrival card there and then , instead of sending them away to return to the line afterwards.

So anyone arriving in Thailand on holiday have a thought for other passengers. Please complete your arrival card before you land. This will ensure the passage through customs is swift.

[operator]

When i arrrived last November, hit immigration about 16.00. The queues were quite long for immigration this time, but they did have a few girls walking up and down the lines checking people had made out their immigration cards and had made made them out properly. Perhaps they have stopped doing it now.

[Basset]

When i arrrived last November, hit immigration about 16.00. The queues were quite long for immigration this time, but they did have a few girls walking up and down the lines checking people had made out their immigration cards and had made made them out properly. Perhaps they have stopped doing it now.

Well you are correct ...there was nobody walking up and down the line checking anything!!!

[pumpuiman]

I think it is the fault of airline crew.

A quick announcement to a group of passengers that may be eating/drinking/sleeping/or in the bathroom....is not enough.

Stewards and stewardesses should make several passes through the aircraft ensuring proper completion of arrival cards.

I have had to ask more than once for my arrival card after being overlooked by airline staff.

Edited March 20, 2007 by pumpuiman

[leisurely]

I think that if they are given out about an hour prior to landing people will fill them out. If they are given out an hour into a flight (of more than two hours), people tuck them away and forget until they are queuing up. Then there is the mad scramble for pens etc. I am an angel and take care of the whole families as soon as they are distributed. It's not us holding you up!

[begsaresponse]

You are an angel indeed! But I guess you are in the minority of passengers who do complete their arrival cards. Because you see so many half asleep/half pi**ed who haven't given a moments thought to filling the card in. And it does not require a high I.Q. to complete anyway!

And I agree on the flight little emphasis is given by the crew to the importance of the card being completed.

So wake up all you crews...just because you fast track through customs you obviously don't give a sh*t about anyone else.

[Axel]

Some airlines do show a little movie-clip before landing, explaining how to fill in the arrival card. I never understood why somebody should explain to me to write my family name in the column 'family-name' but so be it.

Having a ball-pen is a different story, I often forget it in the hand-carry up on the rack... well.

Why at all these cards? Travellers from Europe are not really used to this and canot understand why the immigration officers need a filled in card in addition to the passport.

[nonthaburial]

I passed through immigration at 1230 today, same thing happened, it seemed the offenders were mostly Russian and it held the queue up big time. however I did notice that those in question were told to go and fill in and then join the back of the line.

Sorry but I cannot accept the renmarks about cabin crew, nor do I accept the comments that its easy enough to fill the forms in ! In January a Chinese friend and i were on a Gulf Air flight from HK and were surrounded by an elderly Chinese tour group who obviously had no idea what it was all about. They couldnt understan the English nor the Thai writing, so my friend and I spent the 30 mins on approach filling in over 20 forms !! And an interestin g point gher is that this tour group were thrown on an aircraft in darkest China, met at HK then thrown on the GA flight without a tour guide. Now that is asking for trouble