Outbound Immigration Delays

[NanLaew]

My wife mentioned that the huge tailbacks of passengers trying to clear out through Immigration at Suvarnabhumi was featured on one of the national news programs last night (Friday). Didn't say which channel though.

Anyone catch that? I am out of LOS right now.

Maybe it's FINALLY waking up the locals?

Edited January 30, 2011 by NanLaew

[Dah fahrang]

Yes, it was. I watched it on the late eveining news on Channel 3, on Saturday evening.

The report showed Australian tourists who had missed heir flight becuase they waited for 50 minutes in the Immgration Lines.

Needless to say, the tourists, besides being angry, said they would definitely not be returning any time soon.

AAn airline too (didn't catch whicjh one) was berating this serious problem to their oeprations.

The report invited an un-named very senior member of the Government, (who is fond of globetrotting and clocking up air-miles) to experience the rank and file queue next time he exits Suvarnabhumi - instead of being whisked through his own private VIP suite.

the Immigration Department, when asked to respond about the situation, said they were short staffed because officers had been diverted to 'problem' locations on the border, and had many officers call in sick.

I was at Suvarnabhumi on Saturday, to meet my daughter, (inbound on a Thai Passport) who said she whizzed through non-exisitent Thai Passport queue, where groups of officers were chatting and laughing, whilst the 'fahrang' inbound queue snaked out of sight. clearly, a well managed bureau then, where there is no real need to divert under deplyed staff to areas of extreme pressure.

Also, the tannoy was repeatedly announcing that " to avoid missing your flight, please go to the immigration checkpoint without delay after checking in for your flight".

[powderpuff]

Why didn't they hold the Quantas flight till all pax with boarding passes showed up at the gate?

AOT are mega stupid.

[TheWalkingMan]

They should stick up one of those Disneyland type signs. From here your wait will be 50 minutes or something.

TheWalkingMan

[tigerfish]

i dare say someone will switch into this and take the initiative to make a fast buck out of it.

welcome to the LOS, TIT !

[mystwoodcol]

I get in the Thai line with my Thai wife when exiting no one says anything

[tw25rw]

Airlines will have to advise passengers to check in 4 hours ahead when selling tickets.

[FarangBuddha]

I get in the Thai line with my Thai wife when exiting no one says anything

Good for you; and if one brings a baby one can use the VIP/Express channel as well. However, not everyone has a Thai partner or has dropped a rugrat.

Edited January 31, 2011 by FarangBuddha

[PattayaParent]

I exited at 09:30ish Saturday morning and the Passport Control #2 was chocka but not extending outside of the control area but #3 was OK and I got through easily.

Edited January 31, 2011 by PattayaParent

[whybother]

Why didn't they hold the Quantas flight till all pax with boarding passes showed up at the gate?

AOT are mega stupid.

That would be a good idea. Then the passengers could wander around at their leisure and not worry, because the plane won't leave with out them.

[Jebhead]

The higher up people that run the airport and have some control in the tourism industry must be missing a few brain cells...

Surely they must realize that the first impression people get of the country they are visiting is at the airport. So upon arriving in LOS the first thing they experience is the following ; inefficiency / bad management / poor attitudes from immigration staff / massive lines / long time to wait to collect baggage, the list goes on.

I go through the airport 2 or 3 times per month and i have to say i have never waited more than 20 mins going outbound, not liking what i read here, will have to go a little earlier i guess.

BR

JH

[whybother]

The higher up people that run the airport and have some control in the tourism industry must be missing a few brain cells...

Surely they must realize that the first impression people get of the country they are visiting is at the airport. So upon arriving in LOS the first thing they experience is the following ; inefficiency / bad management / poor attitudes from immigration staff / massive lines / long time to wait to collect baggage, the list goes on.

I go through the airport 2 or 3 times per month and i have to say i have never waited more than 20 mins going outbound, not liking what i read here, will have to go a little earlier i guess.

BR

JH

Actually, inbound is the first impression people get of the country, and from all accounts inbound processing hasn't been too bad ... at least no worse than usual.

It's only the outbound that is a problem now (compared to most of last year), and who cares about tourists if they are on their way out?

[theoldgit]

Actually, inbound is the first impression people get of the country, and from all accounts inbound processing hasn't been too bad ... at least no worse than usual.

It's only the outbound that is a problem now (compared to most of last year), and who cares about tourists if they are on their way out?

Whilst it's probably true that the first impressions are important when entering any country, it's the hold ups at departure that will stick in your mind.

I'm sure we have all been there, we are going to an exotic location for our well earned holiday, we know there is going to be some sort of queue at arrival, after all they have to check everything, we wait to be processed whilst looking forward to enjoying our holiday.

We've now had our holiday and want to get home, we check in knowing we have a long journey ahead of us, never mind we are still on a roll after a fantastic holiday, we then see the queue to get into the Immigration area, after we have survived that we still have the main queue in the hall itself, I will not even mention the sour faced IO checking you out, as I have said before it's a pretty mind numbing job. I would think that the holiday is soon forgotten, a distant memory, all you can think about is am I going to miss my flight? so I think the abysmal hold ups at departure will be the defining memories of your holiday and it will be those you will remember when booking your next holiday.

[NanLaew]

i dare say someone will switch into this and take the initiative to make a fast buck out of it.

welcome to the LOS, TIT !

I get in the Thai line with my Thai wife when exiting no one says anything

Good for you; and if one brings a baby one can use the VIP/Express channel as well. However, not everyone has a Thai partner or has dropped a rugrat.

A Scam Is Born!

On internet dating site... "I even have my own passport already so I can meet you at Departures on your last day and help you leave Thailand much more quickly. All I will need is 5,000 baht and a round-trip ticket to [insert destination here] and off you go! For 10,000 baht and 2 round-trip tickets, I will bring my baby so you we can use the VIP lanes. See tilac? I don't even need to be on the same plane as you! You can buy me some Duty Free before we part and give me your King Power coupons."

Edited February 2, 2011 by NanLaew

[mystwoodcol]

i dare say someone will switch into this and take the initiative to make a fast buck out of it.

welcome to the LOS, TIT !

I get in the Thai line with my Thai wife when exiting no one says anything

Good for you; and if one brings a baby one can use the VIP/Express channel as well. However, not everyone has a Thai partner or has dropped a rugrat.

A Scam Is Born!

On internet dating site... "I even have my own passport already so I can meet you at Departures on your last day and help you leave Thailand much more quickly. All I will need is 5,000 baht and a round-trip ticket to [insert destination here] and off you go! For 10,000 baht and 2 round-trip tickets, I will bring my baby so you we can use the VIP lanes. See tilac? I don't even need to be on the same plane as you! You can buy me some Duty Free before we part and give me your King Power coupons."

I'll out do that one and just rent the wife out!

[NanLaew]

I get in the Thai line with my Thai wife when exiting no one says anything

Good for you; and if one brings a baby one can use the VIP/Express channel as well. However, not everyone has a Thai partner or has dropped a rugrat.

A Scam Is Born!

On internet dating site... "I even have my own passport already so I can meet you at Departures on your last day and help you leave Thailand much more quickly. All I will need is 5,000 baht and a round-trip ticket to [insert destination here] and off you go! For 10,000 baht and 2 round-trip tickets, I will bring my baby so you we can use the VIP lanes. See tilac? I don't even need to be on the same plane as you! You can buy me some Duty Free before we part and give me your King Power coupons."

I'll out do that one and just rent the wife out!

Yo! Pimp daddy!

[Jebhead]

Left last night just before midnight, check in and thru immigration 20 minutes - cattle class...

I know that certain carriers provide the fast track service for free when you are using business or first class, but not all of them.

BR

JH

[Crushdepth]

So how much does it cost to put an extra passport stamper on duty per day? 500 baht?

Nah, better to let 40,000 tourists wait.

[Gumballl]

Only once did I have a large delay when entering LOS, and that was because it took 45 minutes for the luggage to show up. All other times have been reasonable... 15-20 minutes till I clear customs.

Exiting the country, on the other hand, is never a fast process. Seems to always take about 10-15 minutes just to clear the passport control, and with the heat/humidity, it's never enjoyable. Then it is off to the security check, which takes another 10-15 minutes. And finally through the "shopping mall" to the very end to get to the gate, which then requires another queue to sort out the passengers. By then, I wish there was a place to take a shower before boarding the aircraft or at least a private room where I could go to shout obscenities.

The Thai concept of an air-conditioned environment is to set the thermostat at 80F, and then open the windows/door.

[NanLaew]

Just received this from KLM. The added emphasis is mine.

Free Fast Track Immigration Voucher!

When you check in online from HOME! Save time at the airport, choose your favorite seat, check in online

today. Offer is valid from 1 February until

31 March 2011 or while stocks last.

According to information from Airport of Thailand about the overall terminal capacity is unable to cope

with the increase number of passengers at the Bangkok International Airport, we strongly recommend that

you are at the airport earlier than normal.

Click here for more information >

Seems like KLM are proactively working on a solution to the slow outward immigration delays. Just so happens that I am taking the family home in March and flying KLM too. I just hope they have some fast-track passes left!

[Mr Conrad]

Left last night just before midnight, check in and thru immigration 20 minutes - cattle class...

I know that certain carriers provide the fast track service for free when you are using business or first class, but not all of them.

BR

JH

Some good news at last, which airline were you using Jebhead and what Immigration hall did u use ?

Thanks for the information.

Regards

Mr Conrad

[surayu]

We came back this week from KL to BKK by using AA, every single person on front of us and including each of us was being kept at the immigration desk that check passports for about 4-5 minutes, there was no shortage of staff at all, they were just checking all passports with all their gadgets behind the desk, no questions asked, easy to spend hours in the queues with those times, an immigration captain was walking up and down letting tourists to use the "thai only" desk as well...

[NanLaew]

^ Indeed , INBOUND ARRIVING immigration delays are minimal, situation normal apart from the usual short-term bottlenecks.

This thread is about the OUTBOUND DEPARTING immigration delays. Hopefully people posting their experiences will remember to state exactly which departure immigration hall they used and what time they were inconvenienced. There are two separate immigration halls, one opposite the 'middle' of the departures hall (used to be fastest) and one on the 'right' as you are headed airside (most times a zoo).

[sbk]

Would also be good to hear what times of day seem the worst as Jebhead noted he had a late night flight and had minimal issues.

[lomatopo]

I departed SBIA on 31 Jan. After check-in ~ 04:40 (I was given a FastTrack card by UA, traveling in Economy as a 1K, W/L for an upgrade, which cleared at the gate.) Since the FastTrack area did not open until 05:00 or maybe 05:15), I decided to use the East Departure Immigration Hall. I could see the lines were ~ 12 deep, and the video monitors from the West Hall showed similar length lines. Once in the Hall a new desk became staffed and two of us quickly moved over to that desk. My total wait was ~ 6 minutes. Obviously those in the other lines had more like ~ 20 minute wait. No lines at security. From entering the terminal to getting airside was ~ 20 minutes. I saved my FastTrack pass for another day.

I think it is impossible to categorically state which times are best or worst. Flight departures, loads, Immigration staffing all fluctuate day to day, and obviously throughout any given day. We've got maybe ~ 100 recent data points scattered across multiple threads here and no clear trends are obvious, to me anyway.

I have been at the airport several times, maybe once a week for 6 weeks recently, and have seen very, very long lines at 09:30 - 11:30, with pax extending out of the halls into the check-in areas.

Edited February 5, 2011 by lomatopo

[Jawnie]

Regarding outbound immigration, I've had good and bad experiences in the last three months. The good one means I went through in about ten minutes. The bad one was that it took exactly one hour to get to the desk and I missed my flight. All of the desks were not open and operating and it was mid-day as I had a 1:00pm flight time. Honestly, it took exactly one hour. As others have mentioned, the Thai Citizen line was a breeze for them. My airline rebooked me on a flight later that same day at no cost.

Yes, there were airport employees chatting with agents while processing passengers; nor were all of the desked being used; maybe only 3/4 of them. I can understand being short on personnel especially if the amount of passengers fluctuates a lot. Otherwise, agents would often be there with nothing to do. On the other hand, no effort was made to identify whether passengers were being made late to the point of missing flights. The airport could make some efforts here.

[Northpoint]

Regarding outbound immigration, I've had good and bad experiences in the last three months. The good one means I went through in about ten minutes. The bad one was that it took exactly one hour to get to the desk and I missed my flight. All of the desks were not open and operating and it was mid-day as I had a 1:00pm flight time. Honestly, it took exactly one hour. As others have mentioned, the Thai Citizen line was a breeze for them. My airline rebooked me on a flight later that same day at no cost.

Yes, there were airport employees chatting with agents while processing passengers; nor were all of the desked being used; maybe only 3/4 of them. I can understand being short on personnel especially if the amount of passengers fluctuates a lot. Otherwise, agents would often be there with nothing to do. On the other hand, no effort was made to identify whether passengers were being made late to the point of missing flights. The airport could make some efforts here.

Good post. My experiences are similar to yours. One would think the airport authorities would give some consideration to the matter. Fat chance.

[gmac]

i dare say someone will switch into this and take the initiative to make a fast buck out of it.

welcome to the LOS, TIT !

I can see it now VIP queue.........only 500 Baht!

[raylo]

Airlines will have to advise passengers to check in 4 hours ahead when selling tickets.

Why?

If the queue was 50 minutes and they arrived the international requested standard of 2-3 hours, except USA where it is more,

then the maths said they made it on time.

I was there last week and had no problem. Long queues in and out but again be a "boy"scout. Be prepared. 2 hours prior and time for a coffee and wander around

And how come all the whingers keep complaining about Thailand what about Heathrow August 2004? 12 hours in some cases.

That should have had all the whiners up in arms

[theoldgit]

And how come all the whingers keep complaining about Thailand what about Heathrow August 2004? 12 hours in some cases.

That should have had all the whiners up in arms

What to pass through the UK Immigration? I don't think so. Remember this thread is about Immigration delays not knee jerk reactions to security issues.

Edited February 6, 2011 by theoldgit