Bangkok's Airport Of Smiles In Crisis

[pauljones]

It's not an airport. It's a place to harvest the visiting farangs.

[canman]

The only problem I see is that this airport is design by a Farang who don't understand Thai or Thailand.

Maybe you can explain, so that all farang can finally understand. ;-)

I think what is meant is that the designer of the airport did not understand the corruption, poor quality work, substandard materials and general mis-management which is a trait of thai managed big dollar projects and so did not engineer enough of a safety factor into the specs to account for the inevitable corruption, poor quality work, substandard materials and general mis-management

[canman]

Just departed thru the airport a few days ago and no problems leaving, thru immigration in about 15 min.., we where a bit late departing but the airplane arrived late. When I arrived from the Philippines earlier thru immigration in about 20 min no hassel. In the end all you can use to measure the airports preformance is your own experience.

Changi sets the standards (or the benchmark) with immigation and customs on arrival, rarely more that 5 minutes, never more that 10 and 15 minutes your in a cab halfway to the city.

Depatures rarely more that 2-3 minutes.

No buses between gates, Changi is a dream whilst Suvarnabhumi is a nightmare 'pure and simple'

Fully agree with you that Changi sets the standard by which all airports should be measured. I find these days that swampy is not that big a deal to arrive and depart from. It took them 5 years to fianlly almost get it right but these days it is certainly not a nightmare. Cracking runways, power outages and radar problems are cause for concern but the terminal side issues are not that big a deal compared to almost any international airport in the US or Europe which I have been through.

[TPI]

The Bangkok Post reported that 3 mafias have divided up the airport.

My guess?

The Army.

The Police.

Relatives of the invisible hand.

The Air Force did the runway foundations

Taksin's mates did the rest

What could you expect!!

[kurnell]

Just departed thru the airport a few days ago and no problems leaving, thru immigration in about 15 min.., we where a bit late departing but the airplane arrived late. When I arrived from the Philippines earlier thru immigration in about 20 min no hassel. In the end all you can use to measure the airports preformance is your own experience.

Changi sets the standards (or the benchmark) with immigation and customs on arrival, rarely more that 5 minutes, never more that 10 and 15 minutes your in a cab halfway to the city.

Depatures rarely more that 2-3 minutes.

No buses between gates, Changi is a dream whilst Suvarnabhumi is a nightmare 'pure and simple'

Really? I have spent 30 minutes in line on arrival in Singapore (I know this for sure as friends were smsing me from the bar) and not once close to 5 minutes and I have flown to Singapore every year for the last 5 years.

[Skywalker69]

what a sad shame. I hope that they can get the problems sorted. Yingluk has huge experience in large scale project management I'm sure the problems can be fixed

[Moruya]

Just departed thru the airport a few days ago and no problems leaving, thru immigration in about 15 min.., we where a bit late departing but the airplane arrived late. When I arrived from the Philippines earlier thru immigration in about 20 min no hassel. In the end all you can use to measure the airports preformance is your own experience.

Changi sets the standards (or the benchmark) with immigation and customs on arrival, rarely more that 5 minutes, never more that 10 and 15 minutes your in a cab halfway to the city.

Depatures rarely more that 2-3 minutes.

No buses between gates, Changi is a dream whilst Suvarnabhumi is a nightmare 'pure and simple'

Really? I have spent 30 minutes in line on arrival in Singapore (I know this for sure as friends were smsing me from the bar) and not once close to 5 minutes and I have flown to Singapore every year for the last 5 years.

I'm there at least once a month for the past 8 years and whereas you get the odd delay, by and large its the best airport in the world to clear.

[swillowbee]

… the list of criticisms leveled at Suvarnabhumi Airport is quite lengthy and ranges widely … I think of them in terms of the software (operations) and the hardware (facilities) … it seems to me that they can be additionally grouped into three broad categories … I think of them as:

• Criticisms of passenger inconveniences;
  
• Criticisms in which foreign tourist are victimized in the airport; and,
  
• Criticisms of threats to air safety.
  

… the criticisms of passenger inconvenience include:Long immigration lines;<li>Long waits for baggage delivery;<li>Insufficient number of luggage%

Edited July 17, 2012 by swillowbee

[swillowbee]

… the list of criticisms leveled at Suvarnabhumi Airport is quite lengthy and ranges widely … I think of them in terms of the software (operations) and the hardware (facilities) … it seems to me that they can be additionally grouped into three broad categories … I think of them as:

• Criticisms of passenger inconveniences;
  
• Criticisms in which foreign tourist are victimized in the airport; and,
  
• Criticisms of threats to air safety.
  

.

… the criticisms of passenger inconvenience include:

• Long immigration lines;
  
• Long waits for baggage delivery;
  
• Insufficient number of luggage carts, which were as heavy as Volkswagons;
  
• Long walks to gates;
  
• Insufficient number of bathrooms;
  
• Insufficient passenger seating in waiting areas;
  
• Insufficient signage;
  
• Insufficient air-conditioning;
  
• Limited, overpriced Internet access;
  
• Train into BKK opened over a year after the airport opened;
  
• Suvarnabhumi Airport’s maximum passenger capacity was exceeded almost the day it opened.
  

… the criticisms of foreign tourists victimized in the airport include:

• Airport security collaborating with Duty Free shop operators to extort money from foreign tourists who they set-up as shoplifters;
  
• Taxi touts operating inside the airport arrivals hall deceiving foreign tourists into hiring their exorbitantly overpriced cars;
  
• Taxi mafia extorting money from taxis, who collect the extortion from foreign tourists as an “airport fee”;
  
• Parking lot mafia collecting an unauthorized second parking fee after cars are already within the car park;
  
• Aggressive taxi drivers refusing to use meters and charging foreign passengers outrageous fees.
  

… the criticisms of threats to air flight safety might include:

• Fire corridors and fire exits blocked off by Duty Free shops;
  
• Failure of airport radar system:
  
  • Primary power supply to radar system failed;
    
  • Back-up UPS battery system failed;
    
  • Secondary power supply failed, rendering airport tower inoperable;
    
  • Back-up radar system, located offsite failsed
    
  • Flights were then without air traffic control, forcing them to reroute to a Thai military base;
    

  [*]Eroding airport runway foundations causing concrete fractures, creating loose concrete chunks that could be sucked or chipped by nose gear wheels into jet engine air intakes at full power on takeoff.

… I do not like, but can certainly understand the list of criticisms levied in the first two categories … Thailand is an interminably corrupt nation whose cultural values are not entirely civilized, missing principles of human enlightenment upon which many civilized cultures are founded … deficiencies in these first two categories largely relate to the software … the people and their behaviors ... operational issues which might be improved … I can buy that some people get through Suvarnabhumi without being impacted, and can see how they have little about which to criticize Suvarnabhumi.

… but … the last category, threats to air safety, are far more problematic than passengers might know … these problems are less obvious to passengers passing through the terminal, and are largely related to the hardware … already built, cast in concrete, hard-wired into the infrastructure… difficult, expensive and embarrassing to change … added emphasis on embarrassing, as loss of face weighs heavily in the Thai culture and consequently the Thai authority’s willingness to make the correct decisions when face is involved.

… the cost of failure in this last category is quite a bit higher than a delayed flight, the frustration while standing in long, hot queues, the inconveniences while trying to get through the airport, or being criminally victimized before you even get out of the airport.

… there is a notorious and long-celebrated tradition of corruption in Thailand … in this environment, that Suvarnabhumi is what it is, is unsurprising … this is all it could ever be, and nothing greater … Suvarnabhumi Airport's highwater mark might be passed already ... it is less than 5 years old ... a person needn’t reach too far to imagine the roots of these chronic problems, or where they might eventually lead.

… I’ve written here before, that everything a person needs to understand about Thai cultural values and doing business and living in Thailand is all neatly wrapped up in the story of the building of Suvarnabhumi Airport … it is all there, and it is just fascinating … really.

Edited July 18, 2012 by swillowbee

[londonthai]

Insufficient number of bathrooms;

Limited, overpriced Internet access

there are tens of free computers with a decent connection speed, some on level 4, many more on level 3 (in comparison London payed pc's 10 minutes for 1gbp). Password for free wifi at information desks.

bathrooms at each gate (in comparison in London no bathroom at gates)

[SuneeTH]

Insufficient number of bathrooms;

Limited, overpriced Internet access

there are tens of free computers with a decent connection speed, some on level 4, many more on level 3 (in comparison London payed pc's 10 minutes for 1gbp). Password for free wifi at information desks.

bathrooms at each gate (in comparison in London no bathroom at gates)

Why need a password if it is FREE?

[swillowbee]

Insufficient number of bathrooms;

Limited, overpriced Internet access

there are tens of free computers with a decent connection speed, some on level 4, many more on level 3 (in comparison London payed pc's 10 minutes for 1gbp). Password for free wifi at information desks.

bathrooms at each gate (in comparison in London no bathroom at gates)

Why need a password if it is FREE?

.

... good ... they've reinstalled the toilets they deleted to save costs, and have installed Wifi ... seems the Thai government is correcting these deficiencies ... some are easily corrected, or improved ... but, some appear chronic and are not easily corrected ... far more disturbing than issues of mere convenience.

... I've schlepped through many third world airports and have no expectation of a quality experience from a Thai government-built anything.

... the root article in this thread is not about convenience ... it is about air safety ... criticisms of which I cited in post #189 above.

... personally, I would prefer to communicate on a pay telephone rather than the convenience of the Internet, and would gladly pee into an empty coffee cup behind an unmanned Thai Immigration desk, rather than the convenience of a bathroom ... if ... I could be confident ... that the Thai government designed, built, maintained and operated a safe airport.

... I do not have that confidence.

Edited July 18, 2012 by swillowbee

[barefoot1988]

for those with pleasant experiences, great and good for you.

i missed 2 f***ing flights in a row and i had more than 2 f***ing hours before the boarding time. i had to squeeze and stand among with all the agonized passenger facing those incredibly rude airport staff. the thought of that just make my blood boil

i sure some other tvers too got caught in the wrong time in bkk airport and we can hear them speak and by no way am i exaggerating. you could even hear and see some tourist actually crying for god knows reason. for that particular moment in my life, i thought i was facing some doomsday scenario and doing some sort of countrywide evacuation.

[chooka]

Insufficient number of bathrooms;

Limited, overpriced Internet access

there are tens of free computers with a decent connection speed, some on level 4, many more on level 3 (in comparison London payed pc's 10 minutes for 1gbp). Password for free wifi at information desks.

bathrooms at each gate (in comparison in London no bathroom at gates)

Why need a password if it is FREE?

.

... good ... they've reinstalled the toilets they deleted to save costs, and have installed Wifi ... seems the Thai government is correcting these deficiencies ... some are easily corrected, or improved ... but, some appear chronic and are not easily corrected ... far more disturbing than issues of mere convenience.

... I've schlepped through many third world airports and have no expectation of a quality experience from a Thai government-built anything.

... the root article in this thread is not about convenience ... it is about air safety ... criticisms of which I cited in post #189 above.

... personally, I would prefer to communicate on a pay telephone rather than the convenience of the Internet, and would gladly pee into an empty coffee cup behind an unmanned Thai Immigration desk, rather than the convenience of a bathroom ... if ... I could be confident ... that the Thai government designed, built, maintained and operated a safe airport.

... I do not have that confidence.

Do they actually have a toilet/s at the airport? Wish they would put a sign up say where "IT" is.

Edited July 18, 2012 by chooka

[MrJohnson]

Sorry - been out of the loop for a few weeks - left Suvannabuni with the family a few weeks ago en route to Sydney. Internet check-in ......avoided a 300metre queue at the check-in ....why do people not check-in online I will never know but anyways that is not the fault of the airport - in and out of immigration in about ten minutes - this on a w/end - can't complain. Overcharged for food and beverage - well yes - same as any other airport in the world - herded like a herd animal through a shopping channel - well yes, just like most other airports in the world - really my only complaint is the distance between departure gate and everything else - a long walk - but then again - probably doing me a favour - no DVT after a 2km walk - nah.....Swampy isn't that bad - Sydney immigration very efficient but very unfriendly - just getting you in the mood for the 'Nanny' state - why have you come here - :well to spend money and help keep you economy going".....how long do you intend to stay.. "not as long as I did before I met you".......very unfriendly and downright scary and aggro............. 3 weeks in Australia almost - great weather - well it is winter I guess - I just spent AUD $70 (B2200) for a couple of sandwiches and a couple of coffees served up with surly attitude in a filthy restaurant - followed by a 'Jimmy riddle' in a toilet that was not fit for a drunk on a Saturday night - in other words really filthy.........getting the drift.........back to the Swamp on Sunday - can't wait!

[happysanook]

Just departed thru the airport a few days ago and no problems leaving, thru immigration in about 15 min.., we where a bit late departing but the airplane arrived late. When I arrived from the Philippines earlier thru immigration in about 20 min no hassel. In the end all you can use to measure the airports preformance is your own experience.

I haven't been to the BKK airport in several years, but never had any issue there....through immigration in 15-20 min... when going to fly out, no long waits or any problems.

[Lobber]

Lets do the math

TAT claim "The facility was designed with a capacity of 45 million passengers when it was opened in September 2006, a year late at that point. It now handles 51 million passengers a year as Thailand’s tourism industry booms"

If and its a big IF and average aircraft carries 250 people for thius exercise lets say a round 300 - that would mean @ 45 million there would be 401 planes arriving at Swampy a day .

Come on someone and it may be me ??? have got the figures wrong

[Ricardo]

Lets do the math

TAT claim "The facility was designed with a capacity of 45 million passengers when it was opened in September 2006, a year late at that point. It now handles 51 million passengers a year as Thailand’s tourism industry booms"

If and its a big IF and average aircraft carries 250 people for thius exercise lets say a round 300 - that would mean @ 45 million there would be 401 planes arriving at Swampy a day .

Come on someone and it may be me ??? have got the figures wrong

Passengers who arrive do tend to depart again a week or two later, and a capacity of 45 million means departures as well as arrivals, so only half your number of planes need to arrive.