Rew rew! Not just Don Muang - Suvarnabhumi hit by long immigration queues

[webfact]

Rew rew! Not just Don Muang - Suvarnabhumi hit by long immigration queues

 

Picture: Sanook

 

BANGKOK: -- Following last weekend's five hour immigration queue debacle Bangkok's main airport is giving Don Muang a run for its money.

 

Facebook users posted about the bad situation at Suvarabhumi and a Thai visa reporter on the scene can confirm that matters were some of  the worst in memory.

 

#PChang went on Facebook to say that both airports were suffering shortages of immigration staff. Unmanned counters meant queues going back "tens of meters" reported Sanook.

 

Tourists were shaking their heads and grumbling about the situation.

 

A Thaivisa reporter leaving the country early this morning reported huge queues after midnight. Only about half of the desks were manned as the queues snaked around the area causing bottlenecks at the downward escalators.

 

Though it seemed that those who were present had been told to speed up their act.

 

Our reporter said: "I timed the immigration officers and the great majority of people were being dealt with in 20 to 40 seconds each which seemed an improvement.

 

"But when someone came along who took a few minutes or needed an extra inquiry before getting stamped out the queue grew and grew as a result as there were so few officers present.

 

On one side of the escalators only two officers were at work - and they were snowed under.

 

"Having lived in Thailand for 35 years I can say this was the longest I have ever waited to be stamped out of the kingdom".

 

"It was interesting to note that the frustrated officer who dealt with me barked "rew rew, hurry up" to the next foreign tourist in line.

 

Earlier visitor Jerome Taylor posted on Twitter to say there were "insanely long queues" in the afternoon commenting that this was not what tourists wanted after long and tiring flights to Thailand.

 

 

Source: Sanook

 

-- © Copyright Thai Visa News 2017-08-10

[Bluespunk]

Ok, not good, but hardly as bad as the chaos that engulfed DM. 

[Cadbury]

Now we know where the 58 extra staff for Don Mueang came from. 

Edited August 10, 2017 by Cadbury

[NCC1701A]

this is what happens when you take all the immigration officers from BKK and move them to DM as a knee jerk reaction.

 

(cadbury we posted at the same time)

 

I think this is just another display of passive aggressiveness the powerless Thais do when they come under scrutiny and are ordered to do something stupid. They just let things crash. 

 

 

Edited August 10, 2017 by NCC1701A

[Thian]

Nobody pee'd on the floor yet? Oh wait, there's carpet in Swampy.....

 

I'm sure that if many more people in the qeueu just let it flow the Thai will speed up their act very soon.

The officers will have to smell that all day while working.

Edited August 10, 2017 by Thian

[jaywalker]

I think I'll pretend to be paralyzed from the waist down on my next visit to BKK.

 

I DO have a bad back & standing in line (or even shopping with the wife) is absolute murder on my lower spine.

Edited August 10, 2017 by jaywalker

[z42]

A true clown show, staffing should hardly be a problem as the number of civil service personnel in this country is mind bogglingly large to begin with.. But the crux is that a lot of said personnel don't work to any kind of regulated / organized system.

I remember the last time I came through to Suvarnabhumi travelling from another ASEAN country, the muppet on the immigration desk for my line (foreign passport) was in no hurry whatsover.. The ASEAN lanes were moving very smoothly, yet the officer on my lane actually came out to an ever growing line to shore it up needlessly.
He then proceeded to scrutinize my passport and long term non B visa even though everything was completely in order... Because of limited pages he was even mumbing in Thai about that not knowing that I can understand a fair bit of the lingo here... Without even a smile, bashes some stamps in, grumbles and flings my passport back.... Basically saying piss off, there is nothing I could ruin your day properly for.
I expect rotten service from time to time here from those in a uniform... But for other travellers it would have looked utterly dreadful and left a highly negative impression. Same with some members of the immigration staff in my province,  true battle axes that don't give a flying one about good and speedy service with a smile. TIT

[jaywalker]

12 minutes ago, NCC1701A said:

this is what happens when you take all the immigration officers from BKK and move them to DM as a knee jerk reaction.

They remind me of the Dutch boy trying to stick his fingers in all the holes in the dyke.

[Cadbury]

I am just waiting for it to happen. Out will pop Jack in the Box PM Prayut and angrily bark out commands to fix the immigration problem at Suvarabhumi.

Immigration bosses then order the return of the 58 relief troops from Don Mueang back to Suvarabhumi and everything is back to normal.

Oh so Thailand!

[Misterwhisper]

Unbelievable! Why is this department seemingly totally incapable of training - and deploying - enough officers at BOTH airports?

 

It cannot be budget restraints, because the Immigration Bureau earns literally hundreds of millions of baht each and every month from visa applications, visa extensions and re-entry permits alone. Secondly, they do get a certain share from the departure taxes, as well as taxiing and landing fees charged by Airports of Thailand and factored into every flight ticket sold.

 

So it must be a human resources issue, I figure. But what exactly that entails, I cannot tell.

 

Is there a lack of interest because service at the airports doesn't leave enough opportunity for collecting tea money?

 

Is it that the Bureau cannot find enough people with a rudimentary command of English?

 

Is the stumbling block the inability or unwillingness of officers to acquaint themselves and memorize the rather convoluted immigration procedures and rules that often differ between citizens of a huge number of foreign countries?

 

Is the problem that they simply don't find people intelligent enough to be trained to operate the electronic equipment installed in the booths (as we all know, the local police force does not necessarily attract the brightest minds in the country).

 

Or is it simply that the Immigration Bureau - alas, like so many other government departments - has absolutely no idea whatsoever of human resources planning and looking ahead further than just a few days?

 

My hunch is that it might be a combination of all the above, though.          

Edited August 10, 2017 by Misterwhisper

[BEVUP]

All of the Above + the thought of being more disposable 

[colinneil]

 

+

 

Come on folks, please stop moaning/  complaining about this, they are doing their best.

Thailand is such a popular tourist destination, the sudden influx of passengers is not their fault, its all those pesky farangs coming here..

 

 

 

Yes folks, what i just posted is a load of nonsense.

T.A.T. is always spouting about all the extra tourists coming here, but immigration bosses are too brain dead to employ/train new staff.

They just ignore the problems hoping the problems will go away.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[madmitch]

32 minutes ago, webfact said:

Earlier visitor Jerome Taylor posted on Twitter to say there were "insanely long queues" in the afternoon commenting that this was not

what tourists wanted after long and tiring flights to Thailand.

 

"Visitor" Jerome Taylor?

 

Maybe they don't realise he's a local journalist, reporting this to his several thousand Twitter followers. 

[darksidedog]

Just when you thought the incompetence was being worked on, an incident like this comes along and shows that these folks just never learn. Flying long haul and having a queue anything more than 20-30 minutes is just not acceptable.

[NCC1701A]

 

[BasalBanality]

Will Phuket, Chiang Mai and Udon Thani airports make it to the news as well?

[jaywalker]

2 minutes ago, NCC1701A said:

 

Wish I could "Like" this post 20 times.

[rkidlad]

Why all the complaining? There are other airports around the world that have similar problems. I don't know how me saying this changes anything about the airports here, but I simply hate any criticism and strive to defend the inept. 

[jaywalker]

1 minute ago, rkidlad said:

 I simply hate any criticism and strive to defend the inept. 

You picked the perfect country for that.

[George Bowman]

Yesterday afternoon at Don Muang domestic departure. Fastest, I have ever seen. All lanes seemed open and the Thai staff were waving people through. Maybe 5 minutes at most.

Edited August 10, 2017 by missoura

[gummy]

Don't worry the General will sort it at a stroke.

[rumbo1]

What i would like to know is where everyone disappears to after leaving immigration , almost everywhere i go tourism numbers seem low unless its nearly all asian tourists coming to los 

[Orac]

20 minutes ago, madmitch said:

"Visitor" Jerome Taylor?

 

Maybe they don't realise he's a local journalist, reporting this to his several thousand Twitter followers. 

 

Yes. Did strike me as odd that they give so much space to an unnamed ThaiVisa reporter and then pass off the SE Asia Correspondent for AFP who I assume was returning from the recent ASEAN Summit in Manilla as a mere visitor - I wonder which of them has the proper press credentials here?

[Thian]

4 minutes ago, missoura said:

Yesterday afternoon at Don Muang domestic departure. Fastest, I have ever seen. All lanes seemed open and the Thai staff was waving people through. Maybe 5 minutes at most.

I was in the superlong qeueu at Swampy airport and a chinese lady made a picture of the mass of people infront of the officers.

Then a few guards came with 1 officer and arrested the lady...she was not allowed to make a pic there..

 

If this is your pic you're lucky they let you make it.

[Kinnock]

9 minutes ago, missoura said:

Yesterday afternoon at Don Muang domestic departure. Fastest, I have ever seen. All lanes seemed open and the Thai staff were waving people through. Maybe 5 minutes at most.

 

That'll be because of all the extra staff they moved from Swampi to Don Muang.

 

Perhaps there's just not enough people willing to pay to become an Immigration Officer these days?

[flynn]

I was in a massive queue last week , mostly Chinese, they have underestimated the number of Chinese coming to Thailand,also they were many empty booths and it was 1am, 

[jaywalker]

4 minutes ago, flynn said:

many empty booths and it was 1am, 

Bai kin khow! Nuay Maak!

 

They went to eat. Then they were sleepy.

[nasanews]

Thai immigration at both airports give bad image about Thailand tourism, as tens of thousands of travelers come and go through two main airports every day and night why not have more Immigration staff to solve this simple problem.

[tukkytuktuk]

Jerome Taylor posted this on Twitter yesterday. It shows the queue for immigration at the arrivals area early yesterday morning at Swampy.

[jaywalker]

7 minutes ago, tukkytuktuk said:

 

 

Jerome Taylor posted this on Twitter yesterday. It shows the queue for immigration at the arrivals area early yesterday morning at Swampy.

 

I wouldn't even have to pretend to be paralyzed if I were at the end of than line.

 

I'd be flopping on the floor with back spasms in about 20 minutes.

 

What I'm amazed at, is they are actually (more or less) standing in a line instead of a mob.