webfact Posted September 10, 2023 Share Posted September 10, 2023 Suvarnabhumi International Airport, governed by Airports of Thailand (AoT), is set to soft-launch its Satellite 1 (SAT-1) terminal on September 28, following a successful full-scale trial involving 180 mock passengers and their luggage. The trial aimed to evaluate operations at both the SAT-1 satellite passenger terminal and the primary terminal, with Thai Airways offering assistance by supplying cabin crew and aircraft for the process. Kittipong Kittikachorn, the Director of Suvarnabhumi, stated that the trial encompassed a comprehensive operation involving aircraft, incoming and outgoing passengers, transfer passengers, baggage handling systems, and cargo operations. The Immigration Division 2, the Cargo Clearance Customs Bureau, Aeronautical Radio of Thailand and Bangkok Aviation Fuel Services were also present to oversee the operations, he added. Kittipong also revealed that two additional trials are scheduled for the coming days, with Thai AirAsia X and Worldwide Flight Services Bangkok Air Ground Handling Co Ltd conducting one on Tuesday, and Thai Vietjet conducting another on September 20. The latter trial is specifically designed for departing passengers on night flights. by Alex Morgan Photo by Joy Presbitero on Unsplash Full story: https://thethaiger.com/news/business/suvarnabhumi-airports-sat-1-terminal-to-soft-launch-boosting-capacity-by-33 -- The Thaiger 2023-09-11 - Cigna offers a range of visa-compliant plans that meet the minimum requirement of medical treatment, including COVID-19, up to THB 3m. For more information on all expat health insurance plans click here. Get our Daily Newsletter - Click HERE to subscribe 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deserted Posted September 10, 2023 Share Posted September 10, 2023 Exactly where is it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunjeff Posted September 10, 2023 Share Posted September 10, 2023 1 hour ago, Deserted said: Exactly where is it? Parallel to the D concourse. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wpcoe Posted September 10, 2023 Share Posted September 10, 2023 Quote The commencement of the SAT-1 terminal will eliminate the need for international passengers to take shuttle buses to their gates... (Quoted from article linked in OP.) That will be a nice improvement. Glad to see the word "eliminate" instead of "reduce." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deserted Posted September 11, 2023 Share Posted September 11, 2023 3 hours ago, khunjeff said: Parallel to the D concourse. okay thanks. Let's hope they staff it sufficiently, which is not always the case at swampy. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunjeff Posted September 11, 2023 Share Posted September 11, 2023 1 hour ago, wpcoe said: (Quoted from article linked in OP.) That will be a nice improvement. Glad to see the word "eliminate" instead of "reduce." I hope that's true, but I think it's optimistic. Airlines don't only use remote stands because no contact gate is available - some use it because it's cheaper, others for enhanced security of the aircraft, and still others because the incoming flight is domestic, and the next one international (or vice versa). In the last situation, they prefer to just bus pax back and forth rather than having to move the plane between gates (since BKK, unlike some other airports, has no capability to change a gate from domestic to international by moving barriers and doors). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunjeff Posted September 11, 2023 Share Posted September 11, 2023 39 minutes ago, Deserted said: okay thanks. Let's hope they staff it sufficiently, which is not always the case at swampy. It's just extra gates (not check-in or security or immigration or baggage claim), so staffing shouldn't be an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digitalbanana Posted September 11, 2023 Share Posted September 11, 2023 2 hours ago, wpcoe said: Quote The commencement of the SAT-1 terminal will eliminate the need for international passengers to take shuttle buses to their gates... (Quoted from article linked in OP.) That will be a nice improvement. Glad to see the word "eliminate" instead of "reduce." Amazing if true. They've been using shuttle buses since the day Suvarnabhumi Airport opened. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
josephbloggs Posted September 11, 2023 Share Posted September 11, 2023 They could at least have shown a picture of the new thing rather than a photo of the existing terminal building (concourse C). 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
statman78 Posted September 11, 2023 Share Posted September 11, 2023 7 hours ago, khunjeff said: It's just extra gates (not check-in or security or immigration or baggage claim), so staffing shouldn't be an issue. As the article states, the new gates will allow for a 33% increase in capacity. They will need to add more people at check-in, security, baggage handling and immigration. Hopefully it will be a manageable rate of increase in the number of passengers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deserted Posted September 11, 2023 Share Posted September 11, 2023 Yes let's hope so. They could send a few more airlines up to Don Muang also, that would help too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
khunjeff Posted September 11, 2023 Share Posted September 11, 2023 12 hours ago, statman78 said: As the article states, the new gates will allow for a 33% increase in capacity. They will need to add more people at check-in, security, baggage handling and immigration. Hopefully it will be a manageable rate of increase in the number of passengers. The "33% increase" line isn't at all believable. The new satellite should make the existing concourses less crowded and reduce the need to use bus gates, but at this point will just be spreading out existing flights. There won't be a real possiblity for a meaningful increase in flight capacity until the new runway opens (years late, but now expected for mid-2024). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deserted Posted September 11, 2023 Share Posted September 11, 2023 Well, to me it seems as though the airport is large enough to handle the amount of traffic it gets already but where they go wrong is they leave it understaffed and don't have enough ready to process the amount coming into the country. I've seen swampy understaffed many times, in fact I would say its quite normal. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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