Pm Yingluck Orders All Budget Airlines To Fly From Don Mueang Airport

[pkspeaker]

That's a STUPID idea, that's how they got into this mess in the first place, this stupid idea that you could have just this 1 super-airport in a major hub city like bangkok.. even Houston texas has 2 airports (even though most flights go thru Dallas-which is the hub airport in the region), the big intercontinental one and then 'hobby' airport to take some of the load off especially for local, non-international flights, southern california (LA area) has LAX, Long Beach, an airport for Orange County(thats 3 just along the 405) and even another 1 north of the city forgot the name of that one..

how hard it is to for aircraft control to safely traffic all these flights in and out, plus everyone going thru immigration.. DonMuang should be used for all or most of the local flights and budget flights, it should have never been scaled down as much as it was..

Don Mueang should be closed all together and focus only on the Suvarnabhumi

I just don’t understand how one peson can order and dictate to business without any regard to anything, especially business conditions. What kind of democracy is she practicing

[rotary]

Go Don Muaeng.........Down with Swampy!

[Unkomoncents]

Suvarnabhumi and Thailand: The Hub of Unnecessarily Long-Lines and Extremely Poor Planning. All this is on open display for the world to see; I hope someone loses some major face. Because I live in Thailand, everyday I get to wake up and read of or experience a level of stupidity unknown outside of third-world countries.

[Reasonableman]

I came in 02.00h ,long rows on immigration,only 5 boots open ,thai boots closed .

I walked 300m to the next immigration ....nobody ! 5 boots open !

When i came closer ,they chased me away !

I had to go back to the crowded hall ??????Verry unfriendly !!!!!!

So in my opinion it is pure intimidation ,"you want to enter our country ? So we will teach you

who is the boss and you gone loose some time right now !"

Hope tourist stay away, and spend their money in some more friendly place !

Just whistle a happy song, and think happy thoughts, and it will all be fine.

[Unkomoncents]

As any frequent flyer will tell you the counters are simply unmanned. its as if the immigration staff are on strike at the moment. This didn't just happen becuase all of a sudden (In March!!!) the airport got busy...

I have a Fast Track and its normally 2-3 minutes. Even Fast Track is currently over 1 hour. They are actually selling 1 time only passes for fast track at 1000 baht a pop.

Today I canceled an international business trip. The airport is currently out of order.

Its as if someone somewhere has stuck a spanner in the works and until they get what they want, we will all have to suffer.

As a side note, how can an international airport take on renovation work to 2/3rds of its immigration counters and not have a projected completion date? That stinks, no way!

No kidding. Renovation work is completely ridiculous excuse and, because we're in Thailand (where NO ONE has any concept of the usefulness of honesty as a social value), you can be 100% certain that renovation work is NOT why we're having a problem. This is surely complete incompetence and moronic public administration. If you've ever been inside a Thai classroom at the Matthayom level (whether at a government school or an overpriced EP program), then you understand why brainlessness is such a chronic problem here.

[LuckyLew]

Who is the genius who decided to renovate 2/3 of immigration gates

during hot / high / spring break season ???

Last tourist out, please turn off the lights

[hansnl]

Are there any rail links planned between the two airports?

Yes, there are, or better, were!

It was ordered by the Government before 2006, again in 2009.

But the taxi branche...... also has a say in it.

Anyway, the choice for two airports is a good one, and the taxi operators will be glad.

Short term:

The existing rail (North and East)lines could serve both Don Mueang and Suvarnibhumi.

Some changes are needed in the signalling, a station must be built near S, a shuttle bus service between this station and S must be started

Could all be done within 2-3 months

Longer term:

A connection between the existing eastern rail line and S.

Long term:

The airport link to serve S and DM direct, not through Makassan.

Edited March 16, 2012 by hansnl

[Markaew]

That's all not the problem,if I travel to other countries like UAE,Malaysia,Singapore or back to Europe,the passport control takes 1-2minutes per person,sometimes less than that,here in Thailand it takes 3-5 min.i think Thai immigration officers are afraid to make a mistake,or maybe their computer is outdated

Never flown into a major airport in the US, have you? I waited for at least 15 minutes in the US citizens queue at San Francisco recently

San Francisco....Mistress Whiplash...hmmmmm

Edited March 16, 2012 by Markaew

[billd766]

Are there any rail links planned between the two airports?

Exactly what is needed, but would not be cost effective to build.

Express bus service with priority on the roads.

Flite connections need to be easy and fast.

The only people who get priority on the roads are the Royal family who should as a matter of course, politicians who shouldn't as perhaps they may learn by experience (doubtful)/

Not even ambulances or fire engines get priority and are ignored by most other road users.

[Markaew]

If heading for the south, the obvious solution is to fly via KL. AA has flights to Phuket, Krabi, Had Yai and now Surat Thani. No congestion and much cheaper than "economy/budget" Bankok Air - should be renamed Ali Baba Air.

Don Muang is easy to get to/away from by train, dozen or so each day. There is a bridge over the highway from the mezzanine level. Coming from the south, get off at Bang Sue Junction and walk 50-60m to the other station. Too easy.

It sounds easy to you because you live here. What about the poor soul that has never been to Thailand. Not so easy for them.

[chrisinth]

Don Mueang should be closed all together and focus only on the Suvarnabhumi

I just don’t understand how one peson can order and dictate to business without any regard to anything, especially business conditions. What kind of democracy is she practicing

I think this will be another temporary solution until phase 2 at swampy has been complete. Was wondering (before the floods) why they had moved flights to terminal one at Don Muang from domestic for only NOK & Orient. Wonder how long this has been in the planning?

[baneko]

Every time I arrive it takes longer! To say that all immigration desks are being utilised is not true either. It was a rugby scrum last month when I arrived and that was coming into Thailand. Then again if you took out all the foreigners that are not bright enough to fill in an imigration card before going to immigration it would probably be a breeze.

Moving the budget airlines to Don Mueng will be a nightmare for people travelling to other parts of Thailand. Unless your flying Thai that is! At least make the taxi drivers will be happy!

Bangkok Airways a budget airline! Not the last time I flew to Samui!

[mrtoad]

Bangkok Airways is not a low cost carrier, and this is going to cause a lot of problems for international arrivals wanting to go on to places such s Trat. I'm not going to be happy as this is another logistical problem for myself and the business that I work in. Must be some good pay offs for someone with this move. Seeing that Silp-Archa name always should be a warning.

[hansnl]

Don Mueang should be closed all together and focus only on the Suvarnabhumi

I just don’t understand how one peson can order and dictate to business without any regard to anything, especially business conditions. What kind of democracy is she practicing

It is the business of a Government to decide what whey want to do.

Including the use of airports.

Deciding what business conditions will be is indeed the business of a Government.

That is called Democracy.

If a Government decides that there will be two airports in the Capital, one for International flights, the other for low-cost carriers and "local" flights, that is theirs to decide.

As soon as business gets to decide things, well, look around........

[Markaew]

I came in 02.00h ,long rows on immigration,only 5 boots open ,thai boots closed .

I walked 300m to the next immigration ....nobody ! 5 boots open !

When i came closer ,they chased me away !

I had to go back to the crowded hall ??????Verry unfriendly !!!!!!

So in my opinion it is pure intimidation ,"you want to enter our country ? So we will teach you

who is the boss and you gone loose some time right now !"

Hope tourist stay away, and spend their money in some more friendly place !

WOW! Spot on!

[TackyToo]

Suvarnabhumi Airport is already 3 mio passengers over its capacity. They cut themselves off of 2/3 handling capacity of immigration counters.

They start renovations and have no timeline for completion.

They propose a bus service between DM and Suvarnabhumi Airport while the average speed on Bangkok’s roads is less than 15 km/h.

The road connection was partly flooded during last monsoon and there is no guarantee it will not happen again. Distance between the airports 45 km (official driving time 50 mins)

Let’s estimate 40 mins arrival procedure at Suvarnabhumi add cueing up for the bus shuttle and driving time 65 mins. Plus 60 mins prior to check in at DM comes close to 3 hours. If you have a death wish in jour job as a travel agent try to sell this to a family with two kids and luggage for 3 weeks holiday in the Thai Light Zone.

This is what you get, if the clowns run the circus!

[Markaew]

Explain to me how Thai Immigration has control over a 747 load of Chinese tourist arriving and none read or write Thai or English, good luck having your arrival card filled out and ready when you step in front of the officer. No matter how much the, all things Thai or wrong brigade complains there are just a few things that are beyond the control of immigration.

Explain to me how other countries manage to have the same 747 load of Chinese tourist arrive but still process them without the huge delays that are experienced in Bangkok.

You answered your own question with "other countries". This is Thailand, a third world country that has no intention to better themselves.

[Markaew]

As any frequent flyer will tell you the counters are simply unmanned. its as if the immigration staff are on strike at the moment. This didn't just happen becuase all of a sudden (In March!!!) the airport got busy...

I have a Fast Track and its normally 2-3 minutes. Even Fast Track is currently over 1 hour. They are actually selling 1 time only passes for fast track at 1000 baht a pop.

Today I canceled an international business trip. The airport is currently out of order.

Its as if someone somewhere has stuck a spanner in the works and until they get what they want, we will all have to suffer.

As a side note, how can an international airport take on renovation work to 2/3rds of its immigration counters and not have a projected completion date? That stinks, no way!

Maybe they are trying to eliminate their national debt by way of scamming foreigners. I was at immigration this week and was extorted into a under the table payoff to complete the transaction. There appears to be a big effort to grab big bucks right now from foreigners any way they can. Immigration. the airports, etc.

[uptheos]

The solution is to send Immigration Police and AoT officials to a major international airport like Doha or JFK, or Joburg to understand the work ethic required to process passengers in 1 to 2 min. Why cant Suwannaphum handle the current volume of passenger traffic! It was designed to.

Would they know where Doha or JFK is?

Re the arrival card as someone stated earlier, it wouldn't be too difficult to have them printed in a few extra languages; possibly Chinese, Japanese and Arabic.

Edited March 16, 2012 by uptheos

[BobHG46]

If you like to wait at immigration, I recommend arriving at Terminal 4 Heathrow. An hour and a half for non-EU passport holders. I was utterly ashamed that the service travellers pay through the nose for was so bad and that my country expects people to visit in their droves for the Olympic Games, whilst putting on an inferior immigration service. BKK is much more efficient in comparison.

[lavender19]

Why don't they just move all Thai Air fights to Don Mueang.

Mind you thinking about it That would not cut down on passenger congestion as I don't know any one who use's this outdated airline anymore

[Markaew]

Who is the genius who decided to renovate 2/3 of immigration gates

during hot / high / spring break season ???

Last tourist out, please turn off the lights

Supposedly tourism is down then why the congestion? After living here for some time, the one thing I have learned is when you start to have problems, somebody wants some money.

Edited March 16, 2012 by Markaew

[fred110]

Are there any rail links planned between the two airports?

It better be elevated in case of floods.

[IAMSOBAD]

Thai airport workers could care less if you miss a flight or lose money from needing a new ticket or hotel layover.

You are rich farang and deserve a shitty end to your travels. If the little sister PM cared about travelers she would enforce a law against all of the Thai scams against tourists.

Can you trust the Minister of BS who says he JUST HEARD OF THE PROBLEM ON WEDNESDAY...YET ALL TV readers knew a month ago.

What morons lie about amazes me.

Two words describe these officials...

Lying Idiots!

48 million people should email about their fun at airports in LOS and watch the number of visitors drop to zero.

Problem solved.

Posted with Thaivisa App http://apps.thaivisa.com

[fred110]

Suvarnabhumi Airport is already 3 mio passengers over its capacity. They cut themselves off of 2/3 handling capacity of immigration counters.

They start renovations and have no timeline for completion.

They propose a bus service between DM and Suvarnabhumi Airport while the average speed on Bangkok’s roads is less than 15 km/h.

The road connection was partly flooded during last monsoon and there is no guarantee it will not happen again. Distance between the airports 45 km (official driving time 50 mins)

Let’s estimate 40 mins arrival procedure at Suvarnabhumi add cueing up for the bus shuttle and driving time 65 mins. Plus 60 mins prior to check in at DM comes close to 3 hours. If you have a death wish in jour job as a travel agent try to sell this to a family with two kids and luggage for 3 weeks holiday in the Thai Light Zone.

This is what you get, if the clowns run the circus!

Shuttle flights between airports!

[MaiChai]

Don Mueang should be closed all together and focus only on the Suvarnabhumi

I just don’t understand how one peson can order and dictate to business without any regard to anything, especially business conditions. What kind of democracy is she practicing

Did she really order it if it was announced by a deputy? I recon this is just PR to make her look more assertive.

Most people using the cheap airlines will not be connecting with international flights. They will mostly be Thais flying home for the weekend, etc. So does the government care about connecting DM with the main airport?

Edited March 16, 2012 by MaiChai

[uptheos]

who makes these decisions?

I believe there's a panel of 5 kindergarten children.

[tinom]

Didn't we recently were offered a link to "The 10 most dangerous airports in the world"?

DM was part of them... don't remember what was the reason!

Anyway having enough officers at immigration, which I never saw at Swampy, is the only solution!

Bangkok is a major hub connecting the world to S-E Asia! As long as there is no express and direct sky train between the 2 airports, this proposal will make mostly unhappy people!

[ralfbkk]

Such an order is very hard to understand and it looks more like a quick decision to avoid s further overheating situation. The problem is definately not the traffic and passenger volume. LBC's normally do a lot of domestic traffic, which is chaneled trough another exit and most of these LBC's are using rather small equipment, such as 320's and 73's. The biggest is issue is to understand the process and the flow inside the airport, especially during peak hours, i.e.06 am - 08 am and then everything after 7pm. Many posters here mentioned it and I have observed it myself, the Immigration simply takes to long, which is, so I believe, not 100% the Immigration Officers fault. Little we know what they go trough, especially with those who arrive with no understanding on how to fill out the form, and little we know about the system which is being in service out there. Many times I wonder why are will required to fill out these Arrival / Departure Cards? In times where e-Passports are more and more common, these cards should become history. Will online forms / approvals help?

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

southern california (LA area) has LAX, Long Beach, an airport for Orange County(thats 3 just along the 405) and even another 1 north of the city forgot the name of that one..

I think you're talking about Burbank Airport in the San Fernando Valley. And you're likewise forgetting about Ontario Airport, which also provides similar regional air service... Plus LAX, LB and John Wayne-Orange County. That's at least five... not counting some smaller outlying airports.