Through Immigration Today

[merijn]

The embarcation control last Sunday evening was grindingly slow, with queues of 20-30 people for every desk. One frustration was the lack of immigration cards anywhere, and when my (Thai) missis got to the desk the IO was pretty unhelpful, and sent her round the back to forage for one.

Whilst foreigners are leaving with the departure section of the card which they got on the way in, Thais have to get a new departure/arrival card from somewhere. When we fly back to BKK I will make sure I get a spare card so as she doesn't have a similar problem on a future departure.

Thai people should get the TM6 card at check-in.

[infernalman7]

Flew out yesterday to Jakarta, 2.35pm flight so arrived about midday. Airport was empty, no queue at check in, but guess what? The buggers have closed half of the first immigration plaza for 'rennovations'. It was queued back to the glass wall. I thought haha, I fly from this airport 30-40 times a year and know better than these silly tourists, I will go to immi #3. Checked the monitors and it was the same! Don't know if they are 'rennovating' this plaza also, couldn't be arsed to walk down and look.

What a shambles, will have to use fast track for the next few months until they finish this nonsense. Anyone leaving at peak times for the next month or 2 should allow extra time for this, will update when completed.

And once they decided to do something about the long queues, preparing themselves for the next "high season", you call them buggers.

[QED]

Flew out yesterday to Jakarta, 2.35pm flight so arrived about midday. Airport was empty, no queue at check in, but guess what? The buggers have closed half of the first immigration plaza for 'rennovations'. It was queued back to the glass wall. I thought haha, I fly from this airport 30-40 times a year and know better than these silly tourists, I will go to immi #3. Checked the monitors and it was the same! Don't know if they are 'rennovating' this plaza also, couldn't be arsed to walk down and look.

What a shambles, will have to use fast track for the next few months until they finish this nonsense. Anyone leaving at peak times for the next month or 2 should allow extra time for this, will update when completed.

And once they decided to do something about the long queues, preparing themselves for the next "high season", you call them buggers.

I have no idea if 'they decided to do something about the long queues', do you? For all I know they are just painting the walls and putting some nice pictures up.

What I do know is that this is causing long queues in a relatively empty airport, so if they are trying to improve the system they could have found a better way to manage it.

Please tell if you have further information.

[infernalman7]

Flew out yesterday to Jakarta, 2.35pm flight so arrived about midday. Airport was empty, no queue at check in, but guess what? The buggers have closed half of the first immigration plaza for 'rennovations'. It was queued back to the glass wall. I thought haha, I fly from this airport 30-40 times a year and know better than these silly tourists, I will go to immi #3. Checked the monitors and it was the same! Don't know if they are 'rennovating' this plaza also, couldn't be arsed to walk down and look.

What a shambles, will have to use fast track for the next few months until they finish this nonsense. Anyone leaving at peak times for the next month or 2 should allow extra time for this, will update when completed.

And once they decided to do something about the long queues, preparing themselves for the next "high season", you call them buggers.

I have no idea if 'they decided to do something about the long queues', do you? For all I know they are just painting the walls and putting some nice pictures up.

What I do know is that this is causing long queues in a relatively empty airport, so if they are trying to improve the system they could have found a better way to manage it.

Please tell if you have further information.

What they are planning to do is to build a two-storey immigration area, where the security checks will be done on the top floor and immigration on the lower.

It would solve many problems including those who have to go back to the check-in counters to check in their "prohibited on-board items." They will no longer have to discard what they have at that point after immigration.

There will be more X-ray machines as well and the bottlenecks after immigration will be gone.

It is causing long queues, yes, but only at this time where it won't affect as many people. There is no better time for them to do this.

Better way? New terminal is not likely to happen soon. They are building domestic terminal later this year (or perhaps next year)

And I'm sure they deserve more than being called "buggers".

Edited June 22, 2011 by infernalman7

[QED]

Flew out yesterday to Jakarta, 2.35pm flight so arrived about midday. Airport was empty, no queue at check in, but guess what? The buggers have closed half of the first immigration plaza for 'rennovations'. It was queued back to the glass wall. I thought haha, I fly from this airport 30-40 times a year and know better than these silly tourists, I will go to immi #3. Checked the monitors and it was the same! Don't know if they are 'rennovating' this plaza also, couldn't be arsed to walk down and look.

What a shambles, will have to use fast track for the next few months until they finish this nonsense. Anyone leaving at peak times for the next month or 2 should allow extra time for this, will update when completed.

And once they decided to do something about the long queues, preparing themselves for the next "high season", you call them buggers.

I have no idea if 'they decided to do something about the long queues', do you? For all I know they are just painting the walls and putting some nice pictures up.

What I do know is that this is causing long queues in a relatively empty airport, so if they are trying to improve the system they could have found a better way to manage it.

Please tell if you have further information.

What they are planning to do is to build a two-storey immigration area, where the security checks will be done on the top floor and immigration on the lower.

It would solve many problems including those who have to go back to the check-in counters to check in their "prohibited on-board items." They will no longer have to discard what they have at that point after immigration.

There will be more X-ray machines as well and the bottlenecks after immigration will be gone.

It is causing long queues, yes, but only at this time where it won't affect as many people. There is no better time for them to do this.

Better way? New terminal is not likely to happen soon. They are building domestic terminal later this year (or perhaps next year)

And I'm sure they deserve more than being called "buggers".

Sorry, I don't see the benefit here. All it seems they are doing is moving security from the area after immigration to the area above immigration How will that help queues at immigration?

[donger]

For those of you that still insist there is nothing wrong with immigration at Suvarnabhumi, at 7 am this morning (22 June 2011), during the low season, the line was ALMOST to the Thai airways check in desks!

[QED]

For those of you that still insist there is nothing wrong with immigration at Suvarnabhumi, at 7 am this morning (22 June 2011), during the low season, the line was ALMOST to the Thai airways check in desks!

Wow, that is really bad, not seen it that bad before. How long did it take you to get through?

[infernalman7]

^^ Sorry I forgot to mention the key points about immigration:

(1) They have already recruited 40 extra officers

(2) They are abandoning the current system for outgoinging passengers where individual photos of passengers are being taken at immigration. In addition, there will be a special area to "fine over-stayers" and ... "interrogation". (No longer at the back of the immigration counters).

[bobman]

Fortunately for me I was going to the domestic terminal, so I did not have to deal with this.

And the line was getting longer as I walked by, so not sure what the eventual length could have been

For those of you that still insist there is nothing wrong with immigration at Suvarnabhumi, at 7 am this morning (22 June 2011), during the low season, the line was ALMOST to the Thai airways check in desks!

Wow, that is really bad, not seen it that bad before. How long did it take you to get through?

[Klaasvaak]

Can you buy fasttrack tickets on the airport?

That if you see lines like this you can buy you're way around them

[gk10002000]

Good to hear it's quiet. Has anyone any recent experience of outbound immigration at around 9-10 am?

I was there at 1030 am May 10 2011. Lines averaged about 7 people deep each. No bother. Through in 25 minutes or so. Almost takes as long to walk from the EVA gate to the booth! Left on May 26 at 1700. No bother then at all.

[Ricardo]

Flew out yesterday to Jakarta, 2.35pm flight so arrived about midday. Airport was empty, no queue at check in, but guess what? The buggers have closed half of the first immigration plaza for 'rennovations'. It was queued back to the glass wall. I thought haha, I fly from this airport 30-40 times a year and know better than these silly tourists, I will go to immi #3. Checked the monitors and it was the same! Don't know if they are 'rennovating' this plaza also, couldn't be arsed to walk down and look.

What a shambles, will have to use fast track for the next few months until they finish this nonsense. Anyone leaving at peak times for the next month or 2 should allow extra time for this, will update when completed.

And once they decided to do something about the long queues, preparing themselves for the next "high season", you call them buggers.

On a cultural note, for some parts of the UK, "buggers" is a term denoting only mild exasperation, mixed with some affection, and not at all derogatory or rude or indeed homophobic. :jap:

My Yorkshire friends might call me "a daft bugger" in jesting admiration, for example, and I would feel flattered. There's Nowt So Queer As Folk !

Edited July 9, 2011 by Ricardo