Thai Prime Minister’s Surprise Airport Inspection Unveils Slow Services, Vows Improvement

[webfact]

On February 24th, 2024, Thai Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin posted a message on X regarding an unofficial evening visit to Suvarnabhumi Airport without prior announcements to inspect airport services.

Srettha stated that he visited Suvarnabhumi Airport in the evening when there are many passengers. Srettha reportedly timed the airport service time from the checking-in system to the immigration checkpoint and thoroughly inspected all the services which were still reported as slow by many visitors and tourists.

 

In response to the airport services, Srettha instructed relevant agencies to find solutions for spending less time in the checking-in process. Srettha also stated that he would perform a surprise inspection again by himself.

 

By Kittisak Phalaharn

 

Full story: THE PATTAYA NEWS 2024-02-26

 

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[hotchilli]

3 hours ago, webfact said:

In response to the airport services, Srettha instructed relevant agencies to find solutions for spending less time in the checking-in process. Srettha also stated that he would perform a surprise inspection again by himself.

Causing a stir among the ranks, about time the airport got shaken up a little bit.

They have money and staff but seem to lack ability and planning.

[ThaiFelix]

This guy obviously does not trust his subordinates to tell him whats going on.

[realfunster]

Public sector - meet private sector.

 

The airport is a complete cash cow for all involved (looking at you AOT jacket man) , the only reasons for poor service are incompetence and/or greed.

[bamnutsak]

Not sure how surprise inspections can lead to improvements in customer service metrics?

 

He has a Minister of Transport, that's the guy you want to light a fire under. Haranguing airport employees, and "instructing" them to "find solutions" seems less than productive, but does seem to be the local "management style".

 

 

Check-in lines looked massive yesterday.

 

https://twitter.com/KhaosodEnglish/status/1761691345541108209

 

 

[flyingtlger]

"Thai Prime Minister’s Surprise Airport Inspection Unveils Slow Services, Vows Improvement"

 

When the cat is gone, the mice will play....

[ChrisY1]

It's almost always a long and slow wait in the lines. After this visit by the esteemed PM, it will improve dramatically...for a couple of days!

[webfact]

Srettha orders improvement of immigration control at Suvarnabhumi airport
by Mitch Connor 

 

Photo courtesy of Srettha Thavisin (X)

 

Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin has ordered improvements to the immigration control services at Suvarnabhumi International Airport, citing concerns over long queues and excessive waiting times. PM Srettha conducted an unexpected inspection of the airport on Saturday evening, his second unannounced visit since February 5.

 

The prime minister revealed that he had personally timed the duration of various procedures from the moment passengers exited their vehicles to when they finally boarded their flights.

 

Similarly, he tracked the time taken for arrivals to disembark and clear immigration. He expressed dissatisfaction with the protracted process, and urged officials to establish time limits for processing each passenger, reported Bangkok Post.

 

PM Srettha noted the critical need for improvements, stating, “This aspect needs to be improved urgently. I want Airports of Thailand (AoT) or immigration officials to work together to inspect the system at peak hours so they can learn about the problems and find ways to solve them.”

The prime minister’s unanticipated visits precede scheduled upgrades across the country’s airports and aviation sector, set to commence next month. These enhancements include the construction of a new runway at Suvarnabhumi Airport.

AoT, according to its president Kerati Kijmanawat, is set to invest a total of 44 billion baht in the expansion of Suvarnabhumi Airport and the third phase of a development project at Don Mueang International Airport. Kerati reported that service and security improvements are already underway at Suvarnabhumi Airport, anticipating a total of 65 million passengers this year.

 

Don Mueang International Airport developments

 

Furthermore, the AoT aims to boost the daily flight capacity of Suvarnabhumi’s satellite terminal 1 from 50 flights to 120 within two months, and ultimately to 400 flights by year’s end. The East Expansion project will see an 8 billion baht investment towards enlarging Suvarnabhumi’s passenger building to accommodate an additional 15 million passengers annually.

The AoT will also channel 36 billion baht into the third phase of Don Mueang Airport’s development, which includes the construction of a new international terminal and refurbishment of passenger building 1. This expansion will raise the passenger capacity from 30 million to 50 million annually.

 

PM Srettha emphasised his ambition to position Thailand as a regional aviation hub, and his eagerness to impress foreign visitors from the moment they disembark. He stated, “We are trying to push for Thailand to become an aviation hub in the region as the country is now fully open to foreign visitors. I want officials to be service-minded and pay attention to visitors to impress them the moment they disembark. Everything should be seen as an opportunity to boost Thailand’s tourism.”

 

Full story: The Thaiger 2024-02-26

 

- 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

 

 

[Srikcir]

22 minutes ago, webfact said:

I want Airports of Thailand (AoT) or immigration officials to work together to inspect the system at peak hours so they can learn about the problems and find ways to solve them.”

Brave new PM. Causing loss of face for AoT and Immigration. Essentially - 'You don't know your job enough to even see the problems, much less solutions.' Might be time for competent airport leadership, especially before the third runway and terminal go operational.

[brianthainess]

4 hours ago, webfact said:

Srettha also stated that he would perform a surprise inspection again by himself.

I doubt that very much, of course they will know he is coming.

He has just found out what the general public need to do, to board a plane, Hi-SOs like him have no idea as they have had never experienced it. 

[jacko45k]

How is the rest of the world doing?

So many airports were chaotic after covid... they had laid off staff that would never come back. 

[metisdead]

An off topic deflection post about Manchester airport contravening our Community Standards and a reply have been removed.

[retarius]

One of the key things about being successful (at anything) is to focus and prioritise. If you tackle hundreds of issues like Srettha is doing, it is a recipe for failure. One minute he's here signing a visa free arrangement, next minute he's there, checking out immigration lines that he will never have to stand-in, and the next minute banging on about a land bridge, next minute a digital wallet, day after that in Germany asking them to help Thailand's EV car business. He is all over the place....no one can be successful like this. You have to pick a few issues, five or less, and be relentless hammering on those, demanding progress reports every week or month. 

 

Having said that, he seems committed to improving tourism, one way or another. Personally as a low wage industry, albeit higher wages that agriculture, I doubt that increasing the number of tourists to say, 50 million a year, will bring huge benefits to the economy. The other thing, is that the best tourism is repeat business, and while sex tourism is decidedly repeat, family tourism is not unless you make each experience memorable and pleasant. After a 17 hour journey from Europe or 24 hour journey from the US, the last thing most people want is to stand in a line to be greeted by surly and unpredictable immigration people for 2 hours. So any efforts here are most welcome. The good thing is that this should be an easy issue to fix, just make sure the booths are manned when the flights arrive. The hard thing is making it happen....which is where my homily and rant in the first paragraph applies. 

[actonion]

A member of my Thai Mrs family works at the Airport, she says its  very much under staffed  because nobody wants to work there due to  poor pay,  and considering how far  each employee has to travel to get to the airport with  no lodging nearby,  and your own transport needed

[ChipButty]

He should try the immigration offices and see what we have to go through, 

[Sluglord]

Why is inspecting and touring an airport the job of a prime minister? Nothing will come of this government and to think that it's better than the last is just a charade.

 

They won't let that stupid money handout scheme die like it should despite the bot numerous times explaining how damaging it was and how unnecessary it was

 

I think we're just in a holding pattern until taksin returns

[new2here]

3 hours ago, ThaiFelix said:

This guy obviously does not trust his subordinates to tell him whats going on.

I don’t think it’s that exactly..  Given the pervasiveness of “face” here; this kind of activity is hard to do.. no one wants to be the the guy to report to their boss on someone else’s failures…  so I think he’s kind of got no other viable choice but to come in person and see .. 

 

What I somewhat worry about is IF the hammer starts to fall on the senior staff for failing to meet standards, that the senior staff then in turn take that out on junior staff - who in turn might then take it out on the passengers.. kind of how “bad news” tends to flow downhill.

[orchidfan]

2 hours ago, ChrisY1 said:

It's almost always a long and slow wait in the lines. After this visit by the esteemed PM, it will improve dramatically...for a couple of days!

I just cant understand why people don't do online check~in and join the much shorter queues. Maybe something to do with their Sim cards and data roaming.

I departed BKK a few days ago on EK,  (check in line T/U as depicted in the OP report) and online checkin line very short , but dozens waiting in the other lines. All done in a few minutes.

 

On another note I also tried the "Fast/Priority line for the first time, as I already had a re entry permit.

It wasnt fast track and took ages to get through.

The main hold ups appeared to be small family groups....especially of middle eastern and Southern Asian origin.

Not sure I'd bother with that again !

 

I was only a cheap old Economy pax, but the people who had paid for expensive tickets must have been p***ed off

[bradiston]

It's not just in airports. Shop in any supermarket here and 9/10 you'll see long queues at the 3 checkouts that are open, while 17 others are shut, staff on phones etc etc. Managers probably don't even bother turning up for work most of the time. They're the ones they should go after. They're the ones responsible.

[bradiston]

4 minutes ago, orchidfan said:

I just cant understand why people don't do online check~in and join the much shorter queues. Maybe something to do with their Sim cards and data roaming.

I departed BKK a few days ago on EK,  (check in line T/U as depicted in the OP report) and online checkin line very short , but dozens waiting in the other lines. All done in a few minutes.

 

On another note I also tried the "Fast/Priority line for the first time, as I already had a re entry permit.

It wasnt fast track and took ages to get through.

The main hold ups appeared to be small family groups....especially of middle eastern and Southern Asian origin.

Not sure I'd bother with that again !

 

I was only a cheap old Economy pax, but the people who had paid for expensive tickets must have been p***ed off

Yes, groups with multiple passports are a nightmare.

[Sluglord]

2 hours ago, orchidfan said:

just cant understand why people don't do online check~in a

 

It's not always available, especially on intl flights

[Sluglord]

2 hours ago, bradiston said:

Yes, groups with multiple passports are a nightmare.

 

This is bane of my existence at Immigration. The one agent with a dozen passports

[orchidfan]

2 minutes ago, Sluglord said:

 

It's not always available, especially on intl flights

True. But 90+% I fly Emirates, they email me about 48hrs ahead with a link to online checkin.

So I was mainly referring to my experiences with them....and the OP photo appears to be at Emirates checkin counters (?)

[NedR69]

6 hours ago, ThaiFelix said:

This guy obviously does not trust his subordinates to tell him whats going on.

Trust, but verify.

 

[bradiston]

5 hours ago, orchidfan said:

True. But 90+% I fly Emirates, they email me about 48hrs ahead with a link to online checkin.

So I was mainly referring to my experiences with them....and the OP photo appears to be at Emirates checkin counters (?)

Online check-in? Sure, web check-in lines might be shorter, which is about the only advantage. But the airlines can't issue boarding passes as far as I know, and if you've check-in bags you have to go to the check-in counter in any case. Also the check-in staff check any entry requirements at your destination like onward travel bookings.

[zzaa09]

11 hours ago, hotchilli said:

Causing a stir among the ranks, about time the airport got shaken up a little bit.

They have money and staff but seem to lack ability and planning.

Surprise inspection, indeed. 

Going through the rhetorical motions.

 

Metaphorically akin to foxes watching the hen house. 

[Mavideol]

11 hours ago, ThaiFelix said:

This guy obviously does not trust his subordinates to tell him whats going on.

well done, he did surprise me by going unannounced, that's a big step forward compared to the previous "good for nothing general"

[orchidfan]

1 hour ago, bradiston said:

Online check-in? Sure, web check-in lines might be shorter, which is about the only advantage. But the airlines can't issue boarding passes as far as I know, and if you've check-in bags you have to go to the check-in counter in any case. Also the check-in staff check any entry requirements at your destination like onward travel bookings.

Yep..it's mainly for the very short (usually) check in line instead of waiting in slow moving zigzag line for 20 to 40 minutes.

And yes, the boarding pass they email me can't be used in many places (maybe Dubai for EK), and of course the bags have to be checked in anyway,  then issued with a new,hard copy,boarding pass, which is necessary to show in Bangkok, for example. I keep these carefully as they are hard "evidence" of my travels and "missed" 90 day reports (I know the entry and exit stamps are in the passport, but a bunch of collated boarding passes are easier, I guess.

 

Of course the check in staff had my passport for 5 minutes so could peruse my status at the destination.

But I've never been asked a single question by them....presumably because it's all kosher  

[Puwa]

Suvannabhumi has been a mess since the day it opened, so any kind of pressure from above is a welcome change. 

[jacko45k]

8 hours ago, Puwa said:

Suvannabhumi has been a mess since the day it opened, so any kind of pressure from above is a welcome change. 

I have found it a mixed bag over the years...... beats DMG for getting to and from Pattaya by far though.