Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport Expected To Be Busy During Songkran Holiday

Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport Expected to Be Busy During Songkran Holiday

BANGKOK: -- Suvarnabhumi Airport expects up to 1.5 million passengers at this time of two back-to-back long weekends. More immigration staff have been stationed to support the huge passenger volume.

Suvarnabhumi Airport Director Somchai Sawasdipol forecasts that the number of passengers during two long weekends of the Songkran festival from April 9 to 18 would hit a record-high of 1.54 million people or an average of 154,000 passengers per day. The figure is up by ten percent year-on-year.

In the meantime, he expects more than 1.1 million international passengers during the period, a seven percent rise year-on-year.

Domestic passengers are anticipated to increase by 22 percent to 450,000 people. The number of flights is estimated at 9,437, a growth of ten percent from the same period last year.

Somchai advised international passengers to allow three to four extra hours for a check-in, while domestic travelers are urged to check in one to two hours before the departure time.

Moreover, the airport has allocated a special budget for the Immigration Bureau for more staff to man immigration booths. In addition, automatic gates or ‘Auto Channel’ will be launched from April 11 to ease congestion at the airport.

Somchai said that as of now, security at the airport has been maintained at level 3, with increased patrol both inside and outside the passenger terminal.

A coordination center has also been set up for the period of high traffic. For any inquiries, passengers can contact the Suvarnabhumi Airport Call Center around the clock at 0-2132-1888 or the hotline 1722.

-- Tan Network 2012-04-10