Suvarnabhumi Airport Is The Worst Airport In Thailand

[arco27]

the first time I arrived was the day after the opening, 3 hours wait for the baggage. Since then things ave improved to no and and after dozens of times passing through the airport I never had any real complaints, even the Taxis are now on the arrivals level (if the queue is to big I still dash up to departures and grab a cab that just dropped someone). The taunters in the arrival hall normally give me just a weird look after me telling a few well placed words in Thai. I don't shop duty free in BKK since places like Singapore or Honkers are much cheaper. All in all I find Suvarnabhumi a world class Airport, there are far worse in Asia, Europe and it is miles better then LAX or JFK.

[Samuian]

been through this one just recently - found suvannabhum a bit stretched out, plenty of toilets (imho), convenient, but the immigration procedure is still as it was at don muang... slow...but then I was through it and the baggage claim in approx. 30 min. another 30 min. and I was in my hotel room - yes there are airports far worse then this one and construction cost etc. is NOT on a travelers agenda!

[Zpete]

OP, is picking sour grapes, must have had a problem some where, some time and needs to criticise to satisfy ego.

Having used swampy 7 times, int'l and domestic in the last 5 weeks, no problem.

An airport should be rated by services and time spent.

Swampy is one of my top airports.

Immigration and customs, does anyone go to customs?.... were fast.

Waiting for bagage was a minor slowdown, or would have been thru in 10 - 15 mins with only hand baggage.

Swampy is great for a feed if time allows, Magic Food Point, by gate 8 bottom level.

Best and cheapest Thai food hall in Thailand, soooooo cheap too.

SWAMPY ROOOOOOOLS

[Crossy]

Is it just me being senile or is there a serious lack of outlets selling beer.

I'm sure when Swampy opened there were at least two 'sports' bars where you could get a couple down and watch some telly whilst awaiting your delayed flight. Now there seems to be only one bar (near the King Power lounge) and that has no Wi-Fi and no TV

[travellingsurfer]

I think that Suvarnabhumi Airport is the worst airport in Thailand for 3 reasons. First, Suvarnabhumi Airport has mush bad news in construction about corruption. For example, the news said that the CTX corruption case. The government bought CTX that is a scanning machine in unusual cost because they bought it in an expensive cost more than normal. The government bought 26 CTXs. In fact, the total price of CTX is 1400 million baht but the government bought for 2600 million baths. Second, In airport found crack on the runways such as airplane runways and taxi runways. Airplane runways found cracks about 50 points and taxi runways found cracks about 100 points. The problem of cracks was water seep in the ground at the joint of runways. The beginning solving of this problem is to control water level in the underground. Finally, the toilets of the passenger terminal have a lot of problems such as not enough toilets, dirty and far away from passenger lounge. Suvarnabhumi Airport is the national airport and has many passengers so it need to have more 10,000 toilets in the airport but there are less than 10,000 toilets thus the toilet is not enough for passengers. For instance, Sometimes women must line up to get into restroom. In toilets are very dirty because maids are not enough. Moreover, There are other problems. For example, water to leak and seep down to the lower floor. Suvarnabhumi Airport is the worst airport in Thailand.

[travellingsurfer]

For a new airport I have to say that I think "Swampy" is very badly designed, although I have never had a problem finding toilets there is a distinct lack of signage which means walking round a corner only to find that you are headed for the wrong gate (why not put the signs before the intersection???)!

Also I have had to walk 20 minutes just to find a bottle of water... plenty of expensive duty free goods but NO WATER?. This is pretty disgraceful when you are no longer allowed to bring water through the gates. Another problem is the airconditioning which seems to be either freezing cold in bits or boiling hot in others... so when you are boiling hot without water, trying and failing to find the correct gate, NOT a good experience!

Also agree with the comments about catcing a bus to the plane (<deleted>) and the first sight visitors see on arrival (not good).

The check in bit is beautifully designed and could not be easier but everything beyond this needs some serious work and much better planning.

Agreed there are much worse airports in Asia but they have not just been built at huge expense.

[Shrubbery]

I have passed through the airport many times without any hassles, including opening day.

People complain about the "long walk" to and from the gates. Why not use the travelling walkways. There's plenty of them.

There are also buggies available for pax with walking difficulties. I guess you would need to contact the airline ground staff to arrange these.

Immigration can be slow at times, as it can be in the UK.

Personally, I have never had a problem with the hotel and limousine touts. I politely say no thanks and they leave me alone.

I've encountered worse people outside tailor shops in Thailand. Not to mention the timeshare/holiday ownership lot.

I have bussed to and from the aircraft at several airports including, LHR, LGW, TFS. It is not uncommon.

There are several reasons that i can think of immediately why buses are used.

Aircraft is not due to be used for a period of time.

Aircraft is due to go on maintenance.

Airline does not want to pay airbridge fees.

No airbridge available

Aircraft's next sector could be domestic having done an international or vice versa.

Aircraft is not suitable for an airbridge.

Airbridge is inop.

Airbridge not accessible due to apron maintenance.

Budget airlines often make you walk from the gate to the aircraft. Ryanair & Easyjet for example.

I like it and am happy to use it. Unlike LHR and DXB

[Sturbuc]

Suvarnabhumi Airport is the national airport and has many passengers so it need to have more 10,000 toilets in the airport but there are less than 10,000 toilets thus the toilet is not enough for passengers. For instance, Sometimes women must line up to get into restroom.

10,000 is an awful lot of toilets.. How many passengers are there at any one time?

... maybe 10.001 - 10000 on the toilet and one waiting thats YOU

[NanLaew]

There's buggerall wrong with Suvarnabhumi; it's just an airport after all which is just a glorified bus station. All these rants about signs and toilets and eating... I mean just how many times do you pass through the place?

The sooner they stop the political axe grind about how Taksin screwed it all up and Thai and Nok move all their domestic flights back there the better IMHO. Kudos to AirAsia for sticking with the new airport.

[bunnaag]

There's buggerall wrong with Suvarnabhumi; it's just an airport after all which is just a glorified bus station. All these rants about signs and toilets and eating... I mean just how many times do you pass through the place?

The sooner they stop the political axe grind about how Taksin screwed it all up and Thai and Nok move all their domestic flights back there the better IMHO. Kudos to AirAsia for sticking with the new airport.

Thai and Nok had no choice the interim military government forced them to move to pad its pockets.Thai Air Asia is a private company not partly owned bythe government they could not be forced to move.

[APMann]

People complain about the "long walk" to and from the gates. Why not use the travelling walkways. There's plenty of them.

Incorrect. There are very few in the departures duty free halls (maybe 2, very small ones?). I suspect this was part of the King Power stranglehold in scheming to build the airport around its duty free concessions rather than for the convenience of passengers, so that passengers are forced to walk past the shops and not glide by on magic walkways, far from the allure of the duty free goods.

Also I have had to walk 20 minutes just to find a bottle of water... plenty of expensive duty free goods but NO WATER?. This is pretty disgraceful when you are no longer allowed to bring water through the gates.

Incorrect. One of the most disgraceful aspects of the corruption/costs savings in the airport’s construction was the decision NOT to screen bags before you arrive at the entrances to the terminal gates. So you can actually walk through immigration into the departure area with water, or any other and much more dangerous items in your bags, which surely must be one of the biggest things wrong with the airport.

Edited November 25, 2008 by APMann

[Geroc]

Suwarnabhumi is definitively a great airport, and surely one of the best of the world.

Beautiful, comfortable, it's so easy to use. Everything's clear and clean.

Still more exceptional, the car park is perfect, close and cheap.

[SamuiJens]

Suwarnabhumi is definitively a great airport, and surely one of the best of the world.

Beautiful, comfortable, it's so easy to use. Everything's clear and clean.

Still more exceptional, the car park is perfect, close and cheap.

BUT 20mins. to get some water?

[farseer]

I have been to many, many airports and Sawarnabhumi is clean, light, large, bright, cool and one of the good ones.

One of the worst, for a first world country, is Heathrow, cramped, dirty, no where to sit, super expensive snacks and drinks, chairs are dirty and smell, the staff think they are really special.

[SamuiJens]

I have been to many, many airports and Sawarnabhumi is clean, light, large, bright, cool and one of the good ones.

One of the worst, for a first world country, is Heathrow, cramped, dirty, no where to sit, super expensive snacks and drinks, chairs are dirty and smell, the staff think they are really special.

I find it worse than that! I always find away around Heathrow!

[sprq]

QUOTE<<"People complain about the "long walk" to and from the gates. Why not use the travelling walkways. There's plenty of them."

Incorrect. There are very few in the departures duty free halls (maybe 2, very small ones?). I suspect this was part of the King Power stranglehold in scheming to build the airport around its duty free concessions rather than for the convenience of passengers, so that passengers are forced to walk past the shops and not glide by on magic walkways, far from the allure of the duty free goods.>>END QUOTE

Totally agree that this is the worst thing -- finding yourself trudging for about a whole kilometre to get to a night flight to Europe after a long day's work is just wonderful.

The other really painful thing is the stupid baggage trolleys which do not have bars all across the rear. This means that bags of medium or small size, no matter how heavy, just fall through onto the floor - an idiotic design and an idiotic (or simply corrupt) choice by the airport authorities.

[sprq]

Oh, one other thing: bad signage. Recently I had a flight at D4 gate or some such. Straight after immigration there were signs indicating which way to go, and then nothing throughout about 200 metres of duty free shopping. So then I stopped to ask an AOT employee if I was still going the right way, and to tell her I was asking because there were no signs to tell me and there should be signs. Of course, she's not personally responsible for non-existent signage, but how else can you get a complaint across? You're not going to ask for the manager, you just want to get your flight, and you don't want to think about it any other time later, so do the AOT bigwigs ever get any feedback?

Well, actually, the thing to do is just say TIT to yourself. It's a big expensive brand new airport but This Is Thailand and you should never expect first world standards here, just be happy when you get them, and that they're about a third the cost of most places.

[hansnl]

Kabul International is about the suckiest I've gone through though (you don't want to even venture near the toilets, even if they have running water at the time).

Thats the first time I have ever heard of that word,if it is one?

Dave

For information and learning purposes only.

Urban Dictionary Definition:

1. Suckiest

The highest level of sucking

Suckiest beats suckier any day.

From the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary:

Suckiest

Main Entry: sucky

Pronunciation: \ˈsə-kē\

Function: adjective

Inflected Form(s): suck·i·er; suck·i·est

Date: 1984

It seems the consensus is that Swampy is not the "suckiest" (worst) airport internationally, and I would find it hard to believe that there is an International Airport elsewhere in Thailand, that can handle the same number of flights/passengers, and is better than Swampy.

Suckiest:

Not found in Oxford concise dictionary

Not found in Oxford on line english dictionary

Not found in Cambridge American English dictionary

Not found in Cambridge English dictionary

Result: &lt;deleted&gt;

[hansnl]

For a new airport I have to say that I think "Swampy" is very badly designed, although I have never had a problem finding toilets there is a distinct lack of signage which means walking round a corner only to find that you are headed for the wrong gate (why not put the signs before the intersection???)!

Also I have had to walk 20 minutes just to find a bottle of water... plenty of expensive duty free goods but NO WATER?. This is pretty disgraceful when you are no longer allowed to bring water through the gates. Another problem is the airconditioning which seems to be either freezing cold in bits or boiling hot in others... so when you are boiling hot without water, trying and failing to find the correct gate, NOT a good experience!

Also agree with the comments about catcing a bus to the plane (&lt;deleted&gt;) and the first sight visitors see on arrival (not good).

The check in bit is beautifully designed and could not be easier but everything beyond this needs some serious work and much better planning.

Agreed there are much worse airports in Asia but they have not just been built at huge expense.

Same reason as why Thai drivers switch on the indicators after going around the corner and look in the mirrors or over their shouldres after turning the corner, which is called the Thai way.

[MyphuketLife]

I don't care for the airport either, but its just an airport... I have been to allot worse intl airports.

All though none of the other intl airports I have been to have allowed it to be overrun either, so maybe the OP is correct ...

[JimsKnight]

i wanna share my experiance,i was at swarnabhumi airport,had some time before flying,so just drinking beer in sports bar,n 2 girls came to me with a pimp,n was asking me to go for massage,

they had some room booked at airport,

can u guys belive this,sex massage in airport,

ATLEAST THEY WOULD HAVE LEFT THIS AIRPORT FOR TRAVELLERS ONLY.

I recall, back in the days of Don Muang being the premier airport a poster on TV mentioned there were quite a few 'hairdressers' salons that one could go in for some 'womanly attention'

I actually wondered if Suvarn. would, given he clampdowns of the past few years, continue this tradition.

It seems they have! But in a different form!

Amazing Thailand.

[majorpacman]

when i landed there, i was scared that aircraft landing way will full apart. Besides be pet project for a corrupt gov, the airport way too big by design and the design sucks....

BTW, JUST BECAUSE YOU WRITE YOUR ENGLISH WELL, DOESN'T MEAN YOU;RE THE SHIT...TRY LEARNING OTHER PEOPLE LANGUAGES AND THEY WILL MAKE FUN OF YOU. I SPEAK THREE LANGUAGES, I MAKE FUN OF THOSE PEOPLE THAT THERE ENGLISH IS SUPERIOR AND SHIT. LANGUAGES CHANGES....HAVE FUN WITH IT.hel_l, HOW LONG WE DO HAVE ON THIS PLANET ANYWAY.

[majorpacman]

when i landed there, i was scared that aircraft landing way will full apart. Besides be pet project for a corrupt gov, the airport way too big by design and the design sucks....

BTW, JUST BECAUSE YOU WRITE YOUR ENGLISH WELL, DOESN'T MEAN YOU;RE THE SHIT...TRY LEARNING OTHER PEOPLE LANGUAGES AND THEY WILL MAKE FUN OF YOU. I SPEAK THREE LANGUAGES, I MAKE FUN OF THOSE PEOPLE THAT THERE ENGLISH IS SUPERIOR AND SHIT. LANGUAGES CHANGES....HAVE FUN WITH IT.hel_l, HOW LONG WE DO HAVE ON THIS PLANET ANYWAY.

[on-on]

Obviously there are many worse airports around, but since I've been stuck flying in and out of Ninoy Aquino (MNL) lately I'll just say that it's eleventy billion times worse. My favorite metaphorical image was of the big monitor at the gate area that announced the status for that given gate's plane. It had a piece of paper with the flight and airline written on it taped over the screen. That and the sheer number of non-functioning public escalators in Manila are wonderfully symbolic of the entire city - all the appearances of functioning infrastructure without the problems of a keeping a functioning infrastructure working. In any case, yeah, Suvarnabhumi is no Changi or KLIA, but it's head and shoulders above many major aiports in my experience.

Of course today Suvarnabhumi isn't faring so well, heh.

Edited November 26, 2008 by on-on

[BusyBee123]

I don't see the problem with the airport. Had a few annoying moments when it first opened and the immigration queues were a nightmare but all is good now. It's clean has all the facilities, not sure where toilet complaints come from as Dubai and abu dhabi shit all over any airport for worst toilet queue awards. Good food court on the ground floor, prices the same as any other inflated airport. Information available everywhere unlike many airports i particularly like the people walking around who give info as that's good for my parents who get lost sometimes. Taxis are cheap even when they are in rip off mode it is nowhere as near as the zone charges black cabs charge in manchester airport, an utter disgrace that one. No bad experiences at all, some people must just go looking for all the bad points in life shame they can't enjoy what they have.

[thaibeachlovers]

Yep, getting of a plane and running to get to the first and only toilet before 125 other passengers from the same plane get there to try to pee in one of the 3 pissoirs (that's French for the pot men piss in), that's fun.

Now if you were sitting at the far end of the plane or an other B777/300 landed 5 mintes before your plane did, you ran out of luck.

But help is under way: last time I saw them building extra toilets on the way to domestic gates A/B in the middle of that automatic walkway: just jump over the walkway at the right spot and have a good pee.

I like this post because I will be in today (domestic) and out on Monday (international), eager to try out the fantastic, modern, beautiful, e150 billion Baht expensive infrastructure, The first landmark for tourists arriving in Thailand

Don't know about the domestic gates, but in international they appear to be CLOSING toilet blocks, not opening them!

[thaibeachlovers]

the first time I arrived was the day after the opening, 3 hours wait for the baggage. Since then things ave improved to no and and after dozens of times passing through the airport I never had any real complaints, even the Taxis are now on the arrivals level (if the queue is to big I still dash up to departures and grab a cab that just dropped someone). The taunters in the arrival hall normally give me just a weird look after me telling a few well placed words in Thai. I don't shop duty free in BKK since places like Singapore or Honkers are much cheaper. All in all I find Suvarnabhumi a world class Airport, there are far worse in Asia, Europe and it is miles better then LAX or JFK.

We must've been on the same flight! At least I made sure I got plenty of free cans of Coke that they were doling out.

Whatever is wrong with SB, it's miles better than Heathrow, which is a c*** h***. If SB can manage to carry out security checks without a bunch of uniformed thugs harrassing bewildered passengers, why is that beyond the ability of the British to do so?

[thaibeachlovers]

My biggest b**** with SB is that they have blocked all the access for taxi drop off to the far end of departures, so if you're on Thai, you have to trudge all the way back again!