Bangkok airport: Passengers up to 10K/day after test easing - crowds at Suvarnabhumi prompt action

[sandyf]

5 hours ago, Gottfrid said:

Yes! Eureka! We are up in 10 % of before, and can´t even handle that. 

Airports have no control over airline timing.

On my way back last October I came through Dubai. Three x 380 aircraft discharged the self loading freight at exactly the same time, absolute chaos.

I wonder to this day how I never caught covid in the crush.

[Road Warrior]

cant see many chineeze  or Russians ????

[freedomnow]

Have they upgrades their air exchange system since start of pandemic..is it adequate for those numbers ?

 

On the one hand it was almost universal mask wearing in shared indoors spaces - but not much data on covid mitigation indoors with increased air exchange etc.

[MasterBaker]

and now they complain about what???

[Burma Bill]

6 hours ago, webfact said:

When the crowding happened 1,500 to 2,000 passengers had arrived in a single hour.

International and/or Domestic??

Please note, many Domestic travelers will be using BKK as Songkran approaches - Thai Smile and Thai Vietjet use BKK on their domestic routes rather than DMK! 

[PJ71]

39 minutes ago, San Fran Dan said:

1 night if you arrive after 1800 maybe 2 night or 36 hours 

I normally arrive hotel 2100 and have always been out before 0800.

[Bangkok Barry]

3 hours ago, ikke1959 said:

Happily not the 300 THB entry fee yet... Probably also 2 places where you can pay it and get an old fashioned printed receipt. 

It doesn't work like that. But you probably know that anyway but just wanted to make a negative comment.

[Bangkok Barry]

I'm surprised that someone official hasn't said yet that it's the passengers fault for coming. It certainly can't be the fault of the Thais.

[Will B Good]

55,000 a day in 2018......I hope someone is looking at how to ratchet things up as covid fades into the background!!!!

[dogfish180]

I call bs ????????. I arrived at midday today, a bunch of hotel staff hanging about, looking for non existent tourists. I was through immigration in literally 2 minutes! The place was deserted.......

[ThailandGuy]

The moment Tourist start coming with over 10k a day the Thailand Pass system fails. Time to abandon that system or keep tourist numbers low and be happy with that.

[Will B Good]

5 minutes ago, dogfish180 said:

I call bs ????????. I arrived at midday today, a bunch of hotel staff hanging about, looking for non existent tourists. I was through immigration in literally 2 minutes! The place was deserted.......

Had someone just been stabbed maybe......that would clear the place???....555

[thailand49]

Official always defensive always got an excuse!  Just accept the criticism and fix it! 

[aussienam]

"He said that since April 1st when RT-PCR tests before coming to Thailand were scrapped the daily passenger numbers have risen from 6,000 - 7000 to 9,000 - 10,000."

 

For a large airport the increase is minimal.  People are still not coming because of this test on arrival debacle. 

If they wanted to keep one of the tests, then a pre-departure PCR/RAT test makes more sense. Anyone with sense would do an ATK test anyway before departure to Thailand.

 

That way, if someone is positive then they cancel their flight and stay in country of departure until they are negative. 

 

Canceling a flight may be non-refundable or you may be entitled to reschedule to flight.

 

But arriving in Thailand, being tested on arrival and being positive, or being next to someone on the plane who is positive?  BANG! Off to hospital and probably quarantine hotel and be charged a high amount that you cannot claim on insurance.  Ludicrous.  A massive disincentive to travel to Thailand and risk quarantine detention and charged $$$$$$.  An awful and expensive experience.  

 

Meanwhile in Australia, they have previously had a mandatory pre-departure PCR or ATK test requirement. No test on arrival for most States (Perth is the backwards State).  

And from 18th April that is no longer the case and now people can fly to Oz with no need for any tests at all.  You only need vaccination proof.  Moving in line with other countries.  

 

Thailand can do so much better than this craziness.  You want big arrival numbers?  Get rid of all this rubbish.  COVID is already here.  A few positive passengers will make zero difference now. 

[ikke1959]

1 hour ago, Bangkok Barry said:

It doesn't work like that. But you probably know that anyway but just wanted to make a negative comment.

probably never been to extent a visa at any immigration and you will receive a handwritten receipt and they keep the carbonpapered copy...... just to say 

[Bangkok Barry]

7 minutes ago, ikke1959 said:

probably never been to extent a visa at any immigration and you will receive a handwritten receipt and they keep the carbonpapered copy...... just to say 

The tax is included in the price of your ticket and isn't collected separately ..... just to say.

[Millcx]

Its all the Indians that TAT have sent in..... Thailand is saved .... Place will be packed now and everything back to TAT figures 2010 .... Yahoooooooo

[SunsetT]

9 hours ago, webfact said:

it was overcrowded on the third floor at the meeting point between hotels and passengers

2nd Floor I think? Arrivals.

[Lucky Bones]

Ah, arrivals and hotel cars. Chink Chink 

[it is what it is]

4 hours ago, Guderian said:

It sounds very similar to what's happening at British airports. Many staff were laid off during the pandemic and haven't returned to work so the airports are very short-staffed with slow service and over-crowding. Ten thousand passengers a day is less than 10% of what was routinely handled at Swampy before Covid, but it will take time to get all the systems running properly again and sufficient staff available to deal with the increasing numbers. It's still a lot better than Manchester airport, though, where the delays and queues are so bad today that passengers are queuing out into the car park!

 

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/uk-england-manchester-60776547

 

the difference is the uk airports are back to pre covid passenger levels - thailand is dealing with a couple of thousand passengers...

 

that's not to say there hasn't been some chaos at uk airports, but many friends have traveled recently with absolutely no issues, it seems the problems reported in the press are the isolated worse instances.

[impulse]

8 hours ago, webfact said:

After a famous Thai Youtuber exposed to the world how lost tourists were at the airport upon their arrival in Thailand, causing national shame overnight, it took just a day for officials to address the issue.

Thank goodness the guy posted in Thai and no foreigners will ever find, much less understand his posts...

 

How much worse can it be than pre-Covid when the immigration line was often hours long?

 

[CG1 Blue]

11 hours ago, webfact said:

He said that since April 1st when RT-PCR tests before coming to Thailand were scrapped the daily passenger numbers have risen from 6,000 - 7000 to 9,000 - 10,000.

The removal of pre-flight PCR testing will have made virtually no difference to international arrival numbers. This change did not remove the risk of ending up in Covid jail for most of your holiday.

Remove all testing (like most civilised countries) and then you'll see a real increase. 

 

The increases we're seeing now are most likely due to Songkran, Easter holidays, plus the general trend globally of people starting to travel again. But the authorities in LOS like to make out that the increase is due to the pointless removal of pre-flight testing ????

[qwab32]

I came through on the 9th..not complaints.. One of my easiest journies through the airport. 

[cncltd1973]

12 hours ago, webfact said:

Kittipong Kitikhajorn said that the problems are caused by large numbers of passengers at peak periods.

 Kittipong is Captain Obvious!

If only he had a way to look into the future so he could prepare for this! I'm not a professional airport anything, but I expect you can look at the manifest of arrivals for the day and get ahead of the problem, if it interests you to do your job at all.

[brianthainess]

But but I thought TAT had predicted all this while gazing into there crystal ball, goes to prove No-one listens to them.  

[brianthainess]

10 hours ago, cncltd1973 said:

 Kittipong is Captain Obvious!

If only he had a way to look into the future so he could prepare for this! I'm not a professional airport anything, but I expect you can look at the manifest of arrivals for the day and get ahead of the problem, if it interests you to do your job at all.

That would take effort and logic, Nah not going to happen in  L O Sloths 

[sandyf]

20 hours ago, Bangkok Barry said:

The tax is included in the price of your ticket and isn't collected separately ..... just to say.

That has been suggested but not yet agreed. As far as I am aware there is an issue over the land borders which has yet to be resolved and delayed implementation on air travelers.

 

[San Fran Dan]

On 4/12/2022 at 4:22 PM, PJ71 said:

I normally arrive hotel 2100 and have always been out before 0800.

My hotel not do test after 1800 

[PJ71]

34 minutes ago, San Fran Dan said:

My hotel not do test after 1800 

That sucks.

 

I'd suggest finding a hotel that does.

[ttrd]

On 4/12/2022 at 4:37 AM, RafPinto said:

Here they come.
Russians, Scheinese, Indians.
Hand luggage full of 10,000$ notes

???? If 10.000$ notes, then most likely homemade ...