As Queues At Suvarnabhumi Grow, Airport Debate Rages

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As queues grow, airport debate rages

Watcharapong Thongrung

The Nation March 19, 2012 1:00 am

Congestion at Suvarnabhumi airport is due to overload passengers surpassing its capacity and temporary closure of an immigration gate.

BANGKOK: -- Bangkok's "single" airport controversy has returned to haunt all participants in the travel sector, especially air passengers who are most likely to suffer from rising congestion at Suvarnabhumi Airport.

Should the government opt for a single or dual international airports (with a second at Don Mueang), and who would benefit the most from each of these approaches? These are now the big questions facing the government.

The heavy passenger congestion at Suvarnabhumi was the talk of the town last week as passengers took more than three hours to get through the departure procedure. Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra said the government would move all low-cost flight services from Suvarnabhumi to Don Mueang, citing Deputy Prime Minister and Tourism and Sports Minister Chumpol Silapa-archa.

Yingluck and Transport Minister Chatchart Sithipan both want to move all low-cost flight services to Don Mueang in a bid to ease the load at Suvarnabhumi, which now handles 47 million or 48 million passengers a year, surpassing its capacity of 45 million. To achieve the goal, the government will offer tax incentives on landing, parking bay and other fees.

If we want to become an aviation hub by sticking to the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA)'s suggestion that we maintain a single airport policy, we might suffer more than ever from congestion, market watchers said. If the Airports of Thailand (AOT) cannot build a domestic terminal and a third runway in Suvarnabhumi's second phase, due to be complete in 2016, congestion will get more intense.

The second phase, with an estimated cost of Bt62 billion, is set for a five-year period of construction ending in 2016. Following the plan, the airport will be able to handle 15 million more passengers a year, totalling 60 million, and 28 more parking bays, of which some would be for A380 aircraft, for a total of 148.

A single airport would facilitate connecting flight services, but it would take five more years to complete terminal and runway expansion to handle the additional passengers.

It is possible that the long queue of passengers at the immigration gate at Suvarnabhumi being used as a pretext for moving low-cost flight services to Don Mueang. Why doesn't the government solve the core problem, which is mismanagement by airport operator AOT, and speed up construction of the airport's second phase?

The point is that the government is not in a good position to proceed with expanding its investment in Suvarnabhumi, but the number of passengers there is increasing rapidly. Moreover, the government has already spent much money on populist schemes that it promised in order to win the election in July, along with compensation for the floods in the second half of last year. There are a number of mega-investment projects already queuing up for a budget.

One way to solve the congestion problem at Suvarnabhumi is to |move all low-cost carriers, the biggest of which is Thai AirAsia, which operates 82 to 90 flights a |day. A source at AOT said moving |all low-cost flight services would help reduce congestion at Suvarnabhumi by around 8-10 million passengers a year. This would also help slow down the investment in construction of Suvarnabhumi's second phase.

But another big question is what kind of incentives the government will offer to those low-cost airlines to encourage them to move. These days, many airlines are expanding the number of flights they offer, |both domestically and internationally, including connecting flights. Last week, low-cost airlines urged the government to clarify its incentives.

AOT, meanwhile, is not believed to be in favour of moving the low-cost carriers, as its management costs could double, but it would not gain any fee income from Don Mueang, the source said.

Operators of retail spaces, car-parking lots and hotels near Don Mueang, should be the gainers in this game if moving the low-cost flight services to the airport is successful.

-- The Nation 2012-03-19

[wellred]

Moving domestic flights to DM will make it a pain for anyone getting a connecting flight the same day.

[midasthailand]

At 1635 Sunday 18th it took less than 25 minutes from arrival at airport to sitting in Burger King! It was good to see that they have introduced the new queuing system that stops people standing three and four abreast and switching lines. Simple but effective!

[whybother]

Moving some flights to Don Mueang will reduce congestion because some people will decide not to fly through Bangkok.

[theblether]

I hope the new system holds up. It has been a national disgrace up until now. They know how many aircraft are coming in and they know the load factors. No excuses, get every desk open, get the lines clearly organized. On top of that they must allow the business class immigration desks to be used as an overflow.

[Langsuan Man]

Immigration claims that they don't have enough personnel to man the positions at Suvarnabhumi

Eliminate the stupid 90 day report and they will have at a minimum one position from every Immigration Office in Thailand to move to swampy

[virtualtraveller]

They want to make Suvarnabhumi at major hub in the region yet they are going to move most domestic flights to another airport.

[moe666]

Don Mueang use to be crowded as hell and no one complained. Someone mentioned earlier avoid Bangkok but on imternational flights into Thailand not easy to do as other International airports have limited arrival that donot stop at Swampy and you are shuttled thru the backdoor to domestic departures. Came back from Siem Reap last week and we went thru immigration at a small desk manned by one lady, lucky for us first in line. After her we went thru a small security station and then into domestic departures. We just didn't have to go thru main immigration.

[KeyserSoze01]

Moving domestic flights to DM will only exacerbate the problem on arrivals, as those people who were making connecting flights in-country would have to clear immigration and collect their bags, then schlep their way to DM.

[tomyummer]

Great. After saying that Suvarnabhumi would be better designed than Don Muang, better logistics, arrival areas, more conveniences in pick-up and drop-offs, taxis, prices of food and shop outlets to match what you'd find in the city (copying Changi's policy), and more organized duty free outlets, you know what? You still have the same toilet, except with a fancier design and more crap capacity even though the pipes are the same size. Everything they said, did not happen, but instead got worse. If I still have to take a bus from the tarmac and walk forever to meet my ride in a hall filled with cardboard toting peddlers, I'd rather do it from Don Muang.

[laurentbkk]

sorry but all major capitals there are more than one airport .... they can keep some flight to phuket or chiang mai at Suvarnabhumi as those are popular destination and send the rest in DM. included low coat airline. Create some buses shuttles between the 2 airports and it will be ok. Schedule departures according to arrivals in suvarnabhumi ... it works in other cities why not in BKK ?

[gennisis]

Moving some flights to Don Mueang will reduce congestion because some people will decide not to fly through Bangkok.

Not flying via Bangkok is the answer.

Any of the regional airports with flights to KL and then onwards are the way to go.....althought if you are based in Bangkok thats not much help for you..

[morphic]

the recent problem is staff shortage so why on earth are they talking about the sudden need for a second airport? is this just more thai corruption or thai stupidity or the usual combination of both? who knows, but i won't be visiting thailand until the mess is sorted out, no way am i going to be waiting in a 3 hour queue.

[fatman0757]

Just add a 30kilometre high-speed rail link between the two. Shuttle busses are not going to work

[ollyKS]

Moving some flights to Don Mueang will reduce congestion because some people will decide not to fly through Bangkok.

Yes - I imagine this is how it will go. I have had to do a transfer that included a switch of airports a couple of times and I would try very hard not to do it again. You have to make everything a 'worse case scenario' meaning that if you are lucky, and everything is on time, you end up spending hours sitting around when you could be back up in the air again.

Just add a 30kilometre high-speed rail link between the two. Shuttle busses are not going to work

This seems like a decent solution, the airport link seems to work very well, and if you know the timetable you would not waste too much time. It will still hugely reduce the number of passengers transiting through though. Why bother when you can just go through Singapore and not have to do any of this stuff.

The daft thing is that this should not be neccessary, for the most part the airport is not overflowing, it is just a couple of bottle-necks causing all the problems. If the check in desks were more spread out and they had more security and immigration aisles the airport would not feel crowded at all. All my Thai friends think that the airport needs another terminal, but I think it just needs a little expansion and better organising.

[KKvampire]

Immigration claims that they don't have enough personnel to man the positions at Suvarnabhumi

Eliminate the stupid 90 day report and they will have at a minimum one position from every Immigration Office in Thailand to move to swampy

90 day report was and is just the Thai love of bureacracy, surpassing even "communist" countries . I have lived in countries with non democratic, unelected governments , eg China and you have a visa and register at an address and thats it for the length of the visa. It;s just LoS example of nonsense , the same as paying 1200bht exit fee if you want to leave the country for a short time.

Edited March 19, 2012 by KKvampire

[BigBikeBKK]

Immigration claims that they don't have enough personnel to man the positions at Suvarnabhumi

Eliminate the stupid 90 day report and they will have at a minimum one position from every Immigration Office in Thailand to move to swampy

90 day report was and is just the Thai love of bureacracy, surpassing even "communist" countries . I have lived in countries with non democratic, unelected governments , eg China and you have a visa and register at an address and thats it for the length of the visa. It;s just LoS example of nonsense , the same as paying 1200bht exit fee if you want to leave the country for a short time.

I have a friend, ahem, who hasn't done a 90 day report in 3 years. Multiple entry non-B visa renewal every year no problems, no worries

[rotary]

Moving flights to DM may be a pain but SWAMPY is a bigger pain period. I hate that airport and always have from the first time I saw that unfinished piece of cement.

[rotorbreeze]

Just add a 30kilometre high-speed rail link between the two. Shuttle busses are not going to work

What about Utapao-Rayong-Pataya International Airport is it possible to make this a international airport...I went to site and all was in Thai, nice if they could have an english version on this airport... lessen congestion at the major airports.

[anterian]

Most immigration offices have a machine that issues you with a number, you then wait for your number to be called. Why not do this at the airport, then no queue jumping, you can wander around the shops, visit the toilets, or simply stretch your legs.

[cowslip]

Second airport? not needed - many airports cope with heaps more traffic than Bkk.

THey would do well to look at how they process passports.

Train the officers better and open more gates.

If they do their job properly the queues will disappear.

THey might also look at streamlining a load of petty visa regulations.

Edited March 19, 2012 by cowslip

[gosompoi]

get rid of the arrival/departure card and stamps, just print a sticker and put in passport. no writing, no stamping, just scan, print, stick and go!

[dude007]

I heard of the following solution from the PT-Government to stop the long queues at immigration desks:

1. Pay the Immigration police more

2. Move low budget domestic flights to Don Muang (no immigration procedures needed)

May I suggest a few more along the same line of thinking:

3. install mobile toilets under the seats of the immigration police desks to avoid sanitary breaks

4. provide fresh water to the long queues or rent free books for reading whilst standing in the queue...

5. Let the passengers stay closer to each other to reduce the length of the queue

6. allow the richest passengers to bribe the persons standing in front of them to take their place so that the poorest will have to wait the longest but get also the most of the money

These are some thoughts that are much better than the Government's ideas...

[bedouin1990]

Can someone please clarify something for me? Are these 3 hour q's to enter or depart Thailand? Or both?

Thanks

[gosompoi]

Can someone please clarify something for me? Are these 3 hour q's to enter or depart Thailand? Or both?

Thanks

The 3 hour figure relates to departure q times from last week.

[bkk_mike]

There is no point forcing airlines who don't want to move to Don Muang back to Don Muang.

i.e. If you move international flights, you've then got to also move immigration staff to Don Muang.

Has anybody EVER seen all the immigration points actually manned at the same time (inbound or outbound). I know I haven't... - so the problem isn't with the infrastructure (although stupidly closing one of the two (not sure how it's 3) areas for immigration for exiting the country does seem a bit short-sighted. (why did the whole section have to be closed?)

Here's a quick and dirty tip that would greatly improve things... - a nice LONG table at the entrance to the immigration sections (inbound and outbound - notably with pens and blank forms, unlike the existing little booths which usually have neither), and a person checking before people joined the queues that they'd filled in the form, and sending them off to the table if they hadn't..

(You could even have posters in different languages at the table explaining how to fill in the form.)

Suddenly, if people that actually got to the immigration counter had all actually filled in the forms before getting there, the queues would move a LOT faster. And if you actually had enough staff as well - problem sorted...

Shifting flights to the other airport because immigration can't stamp forms fast enough does seem like using a sledgehammer to crack a nut, (although replace sledgehammer with dropping an A380 onto it to get an idea of the actual scale of the overreaction.)

[bkk_mike]

Duplicate post removed.

Edited March 19, 2012 by bkk_mike

[dude007]

At 1635 Sunday 18th it took less than 25 minutes from arrival at airport to sitting in Burger King! It was good to see that they have introduced the new queuing system that stops people standing three and four abreast and switching lines. Simple but effective!

and that new queuing system is... ????

[luckyman]

I hope the new system holds up. It has been a national disgrace up until now. They know how many aircraft are coming in and they know the load factors. No excuses, get every desk open, get the lines clearly organized. On top of that they must allow the business class immigration desks to be used as an overflow.

Many articles on this topic have appeared in English news papers recently, and many letters to the editor in especially the BK Post, all full of complaints.

However, two days after the Government said it would introduce extra staff from Border Police to help the Immigration at Suvarnabhumi, my daughter who travelled from Holland arrived at the airport last week.

Her plane landed at 1.15 PM, and around 1.50 PM she called me that she was already thru customs, which means that it took her only 35 minutes to fetch her luggage and go thru Immigration.

That's great service and much better than many European airports!! However, on the topic of the transfer of domestic flights to Don Mueang, I think they should reconsider and have Don Mueang as a second International airport all together.

[gosompoi]

I heard of the following solution from the PT-Government to stop the long queues at immigration desks:

1. Pay the Immigration police more

2. Move low budget domestic flights to Don Muang (no immigration procedures needed)

May I suggest a few more along the same line of thinking:

3. install mobile toilets under the seats of the immigration police desks to avoid sanitary breaks

4. provide fresh water to the long queues or rent free books for reading whilst standing in the queue...

5. Let the passengers stay closer to each other to reduce the length of the queue

6. allow the richest passengers to bribe the persons standing in front of them to take their place so that the poorest will have to wait the longest but get also the most of the money

These are some thoughts that are much better than the Government's ideas...

The odd thing about moving traffic to DM is that only moving domestic flights/low-cost airlines does not help ease the immigration q load. Moving low-cost domestic flights just lowers the airplane traffic load at swampy but not the number of international passengers.