New Automated Passport Control Enhances Suvarnabhumi Airport Experience

[geisha]

5 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

True story coming up...   At one of the US airports a common complaint came up - the wait for baggage was too long.

A 'marketing genius' at the airport resolved the issue by moving the 'arrival gate' further from the baggage area, the baggage arrived at the same time, but as people had a longer walk, they waited less for the baggage and complained less. 

 

I find the 'baggage handling' and timing at Suvarnabumi airport pretty decent, I get fast-tracked through Immigration etc with Thai Elite so am usually one of the first waiting - I'm therefore well aware of the 'wait times'.... 

 

Now that there is a satellite terminal, 'some' will take longer to arrive at the baggage hall and be incredible impressed at their reduced wait time because they've taken an extra 10 mins to get to there. 

 

Thus - the solution to your 'waiting for baggage' is not to fly business, but to travel economy, sit at the back of the plane, you won't have to wait for your baggage !!... 

 

 

Realistically: I'm often in the Baggage hall in less than 10mins from the air-craft doors opening - so a 10-20min wait for baggage is quite reasonable, certainly no worse than many other Airports IMO. 

 

I know Suvarnabumi enjoys a bashing from many on this forum, but travelling around a lot, its one of the better airports, and if the regular Immigration queues which have blighted arrivals can get resolved, this will make a huge difference for many. 

 

It's good to see AOT concentrating on the right thing.

 

Its also good to see the 300 Baht tourist charge not being added, as this was potentially going to cause further choke points unless they could achieve a way for streamlining that and avoiding choke points. 

 

Now they have to address the 'insurance' issue with so many tourists arriving without health / emergency insurance (travel insurance) and their hospital bills are not covered - it would be good for Thailand to find a way in which arrivals can either show they have insurance or purchase cover that ensures they get treatment without the controversy and negative optics that we see in the news.

 

You can’t compare yourself to the tourists that come for a week or two can you ? A family of 3 or 4 is common, and a lot of them over 60. I ve stood in that damned queue once about 5 years back  after having to leave urgently for a funeral at home. It was near Xmas and it was awful, crying babies, older travelers, and I don’t think this is a good way to start your holidays. A long time since I sat in economy on a long haul, it was not comfortable and I wouldn’t again, it was a one off urgency. The baggage wait at the end is annoying. And that every time I arrive at Suvarnabhumi. 
I do agree with obligatory full travel insurance for anyone on exempt or a tourist visa. It’s cheap enough and would save a lot of heartache.  

[richard_smith237]

3 hours ago, geisha said:

The baggage wait at the end is annoying. And that every time I arrive at Suvarnabhumi. 

 

How long are you waiting for your baggage... 

 

As pointed out - I'm usually through and in the baggage hall within 10mins of the air-craft doors open. 

 

I rarely wait more than 10 mins...   but if it were 20 mins I'd still think that no unreasonable. 

 

 

Thus, I am curious... how long do you think its taking you...  from plane docking / doors opening to receiving baggage ? ... as it seems your complaint is about waiting a long time for baggage which doesn't mirror my experience of approximately 8 arrivals per year.

 

 

 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

5 hours ago, Highlandman said:

 

Travelers need to exercise personal responsibility, not be forced to buy things.

 

While travel/medical insurance is a good idea, I don't think it should be forced.

 

Myanmar aside, which still requires Covid/medical insurance at least to apply for a visa, all other regional countries have scrapped insurance requirements. Why would/should Thailand impose such a requirement when even Singapore doesn't? 

 

Tourists would stop coming to Thailand and visit Laos/Cambodia/Vietnam instead.

 

I agree...    But its also somewhat of a conundrum... 

 

When a tourist rents a bike, no helmet, comes off his bike, smashes his scull, is taken to a private hospital, needs surgery, can't pay his costs, is transferred to a government hospital... and the bill comes to 500,000 baht....   then authorities complain that tourists are not paying their medical bills - the Optics look very poor for authorities.

 

I've argued in the past that the medical burden of tourists is a tiny amount of the income from medical tourism alone and a minute amount of the income from tourism in total - So perhaps the authorities should stop the 'bad tourists reports' of those who don't pay - which always looks very poor when read in the overseas press. 

 

Perhaps the better optics are 'I was so very well looked after following an accident in Thailand'...    

 

Additionally - some can't get travel insurance. Perhaps if there were a well priced 'option on arrival' to purchase cover and Thailand advertises that, it could be a good option.

 

 

 

 

 

[Photoguy21]

So how would this work for persons that have overstayed their visa? Further, on entry if they were used how would your passport be stamped in?

Good idea if everyone plays by the rules but as has been demonstrated many times there are those who abuse the rules.

[treetops]

1 minute ago, Photoguy21 said:

So how would this work for persons that have overstayed their visa? Further, on entry if they were used how would your passport be stamped in?

Good idea if everyone plays by the rules but as has been demonstrated many times there are those who abuse the rules.

 

There will be significantly fewer gates on entry (numbers are upthread) and I suspect this is down to all the different length of stays to be stamped in for which will need manual intervention.  Could be that if Visa exempt entries are the highest headcount they are directed to the auto gates and everyone else is manually processed.

 

Overstays would be rejected at the exit gates - computer says no - and dealt with by an officer.

[Purdey]

On 6/10/2024 at 2:36 AM, webfact said:

This continuous flow system eliminates the need for passengers to go through checks one at a time.

Does this mean 10 people can go through one channel at the same time?

No difference then, just faster as long as the face recognition works.

[richard_smith237]

2 hours ago, Photoguy21 said:

So how would this work for persons that have overstayed their visa? Further, on entry if they were used how would your passport be stamped in?

Good idea if everyone plays by the rules but as has been demonstrated many times there are those who abuse the rules.

Who needs an arrival stamp ? 
People who can’t remember how long they’ve been in for ?

All info is in a digital database, any overstayers will be flagged if attempting to depart via the e-gates, just as they are in other countries. 

 

 

 

[geisha]

33 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

How long are you waiting for your baggage... 

 

As pointed out - I'm usually through and in the baggage hall within 10mins of the air-craft doors open. 

 

I rarely wait more than 10 mins...   but if it were 20 mins I'd still think that no unreasonable. 

 

 

Thus, I am curious... how long do you think its taking you...  from plane docking / doors opening to receiving baggage ? ... as it seems your complaint is about waiting a long time for baggage which doesn't mirror my experience of approximately 8 arrivals per year.

 

 

 

 

 

Often around 30 mins waiting at the belt .  I  arrive  with Emirates at 13 h, or Swissair 11 am. if that makes a difference.  I’m retired so traveling is my preferred hobby, and always when staying around 4 months in Thailand I do get bored and have to go wandering. I’ve been doing this since 1984,I’m lucky to have had  a career that gives me my EU winter season free 5 months a year,  and I’ve mostly been a snowbird in Thailand. The airport , in my opinion, has had huge problems , beginning around 7 to 10 years ago. Before that it was much better due to less tourists. Thailand is suffering from overload in all the domains, we are seeing the results. Crumbling infrastructure and bad service.

[Photoguy21]

18 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

Who needs an arrival stamp ? 
People who can’t remember how long they’ve been in for ?

All info is in a digital database, any overstayers will be flagged if attempting to depart via the e-gates, just as they are in other countries. 

 

 

 

You may need an arrival stamp if stopped by the police so they can see you are legally in the country.

[Will B Good]

Combined with the self-check-in and self luggage loading, they are getting their act together.

[richard_smith237]

3 hours ago, Photoguy21 said:

You may need an arrival stamp if stopped by the police so they can see you are legally in the country.

 

Not true....  (and a common misconception) - Only Immigration Police can check your Immigration Status, in and around the country, or upon arrival and departure - The 'conventional' police force 'should' not be able to do this, though they can ask for Government Issued Photo ID which is commonly our Passport, or another form of Photo ID issued by a Government Authority of our home nation or Thailand. 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

16 hours ago, geisha said:

On 6/11/2024 at 3:39 PM, richard_smith237 said:

 

How long are you waiting for your baggage... 

 

As pointed out - I'm usually through and in the baggage hall within 10mins of the air-craft doors open. 

 

I rarely wait more than 10 mins...   but if it were 20 mins I'd still think that no unreasonable. 

 

 

Thus, I am curious... how long do you think its taking you...  from plane docking / doors opening to receiving baggage ? ... as it seems your complaint is about waiting a long time for baggage which doesn't mirror my experience of approximately 8 arrivals per year.

 

 

 

 

 

Expand  

Often around 30 mins waiting at the belt .  I  arrive  with Emirates at 13 h, or Swissair 11 am. if that makes a difference.  I’m retired so traveling is my preferred hobby, and always when staying around 4 months in Thailand I do get bored and have to go wandering. I’ve been doing this since 1984,I’m lucky to have had  a career that gives me my EU winter season free 5 months a year,  and I’ve mostly been a snowbird in Thailand. The airport , in my opinion, has had huge problems , beginning around 7 to 10 years ago. Before that it was much better due to less tourists. Thailand is suffering from overload in all the domains, we are seeing the results. Crumbling infrastructure and bad service.

 

Yup... thats a long time for the baggage to come through....    If taking 10-15 mins from the doors of the plane opening to get to the baggage hall, then waiting a further 30 mins - thats a total of 40-45 mins for the baggage to come through - thats too long.

 

That said: I often arrive at similar times (Emirates / Qatar) and have not noticed long waiting times...  

 

I just haven't noticed the same issues as you...  IMO the only issues the Airport has had recently (past few years) is slow Immigration (which is being resolved as per this Op) and being extremely busy... Some of that is resolved with the Satellite terminal, but check-in is still extremely busy.

 

 

 

 

[bristolgeoff]

Happening everywhere just takes times.Thailand has join the club too now

[Photoguy21]

22 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Not true....  (and a common misconception) - Only Immigration Police can check your Immigration Status, in and around the country, or upon arrival and departure - The 'conventional' police force 'should' not be able to do this, though they can ask for Government Issued Photo ID which is commonly our Passport, or another form of Photo ID issued by a Government Authority of our home nation or Thailand. 

 

 

Maybe in theory yes but if that is the case why are foreigners advised to carry a copy of their passport with them? If only Immigration can check you document then no need to carry a copy with you.

[richard_smith237]

23 minutes ago, Photoguy21 said:

Maybe in theory yes but if that is the case why are foreigners advised to carry a copy of their passport with them? If only Immigration can check you document then no need to carry a copy with you.

 

It's Thai Law that all people in Thailand carry 'Government issued photo ID'....   (this is the Blue ID card for Thai's)... 

As foreigners do not 'usually' have an ID card, the common advice is to carry your passport for ID purposes (not to check Immigration status).

 

 

[Photoguy21]

2 hours ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

It's Thai Law that all people in Thailand carry 'Government issued photo ID'....   (this is the Blue ID card for Thai's)... 

As foreigners do not 'usually' have an ID card, the common advice is to carry your passport for ID purposes (not to check Immigration status).

 

 

Agreed, which is why we are all advised to carry a copy of our passport

[Chris Daley]

Rude staff shouting and terrible service.  That is my suwanipum experience everytime, always has been.

[Sheryl]

There was previous concern that people with re-entry permits should nto use automated gates for departure, has this issue been resolved?

[treetops]

4 hours ago, Sheryl said:

There was previous concern that people with re-entry permits should nto use automated gates for departure, has this issue been resolved?

 

The guy that banged on about it departed as you describe a couple of weeks ago and returned with no problems.  His thread has now been closed.  There has also been at least one other report that everything was OK.