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

[bbbbooboo]

hmmm.....At times I have had to wait up to 2 hrs going in and out of the airport..... and there was i thinking I was one of the lucky ones...

[gk10002000]

Well, 14 trips from the USA to Thailand since 2004.  Never had more than a 1 1/2 total wait and that was the longest and only once when the line at BKK was just to the top of the ramp.  The first two trips were through DMK.  10 of the trips were what I would call very short lines like no more than 7 people in each booth line.  I have arrived at all hours of the day, the last 8 trips at 1100 AM.  Other trips at 2 AM and I think two were at 6 AM.  I have departed only at either 1230 or at 1730.   I typically flew EVA connecting from LAX through Taipei and had a few other trips with China Air with the same connections.  Had a few flights that connected through Japan when I went JAL and one with KAL.  But the airlines shouldn't have any affect on the size of lines.  I just mention for completeness. 

 

 I add that the JAL flight was a joy.  The stewardesses were so sweet.  They even cleaned the bathrooms during the flight.  EVA has been very good since I flew Premium Elite class and those bigger seats that recline and are in the section in front of coach are so very much worth the extra money and it is not that much more money.  It looks like however EVA has "upgraded" that class and changed the seats so they now have tiny little foot rests.  Business class on China East might be worth a go on my next trip.  They have new herringbone seats that fully recline.  A little more than EVA elite

[alt]

I'm not travelling until Dec so hopefully this mess will be sorted, but if not...

 

If I have fast pass (business ticket), I presume I just skip this whole queue?

[Thian]

Just now, alt said:

I'm not travelling until Dec so hopefully this mess will be sorted, but if not...

 

If I have fast pass (business ticket), I presume I just skip this whole queue?

Or ask for a wheelchair so you can sit while waiting. I bet if loads of people ask for wheelchairs they will speed up the process.

[alt]

Just now, Thian said:

Or ask for a wheelchair so you can sit while waiting. I bet if loads of people ask for wheelchairs they will speed up the process.

I don't want to tempt fate. I suffer from chronic lower back pain from a motorcycle accident a few years ago. But i'm glad to be able to walk rather then being confined to a wheelchair!

[Stargeezr]

Have any of you been through Beijing.  I did last Winter.  Four big jet loads of people and two immigration

positons to process everyone. One and a half hours to get processed so I could walk back to the gate next

to the one I had arrived in. At least in Thailand there is more than a total of four positions to deal with

the international travellers.Beijing Sucks!

Geezer

[Chris Renaix]

18 hours ago, jaywalker said:

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.

Don't know if that will speed things up; when entering the Kingdom with my handicapped mother a while ago (she's paralyzed) I was told to wait in line, just like everybody else...    To top it off they sped things up for young couples with children.  TIT I guess...

[gintis0604]

Not only in Bangkok. The same in Utapao when I came from Kuala.

2 of 6 desks was open. The hall totally crowded. After half an hour came ONE more officer!

It's just normal in Thailand. Thais can't plan or organize anything.

[mstevens]

I'd be interested in knowing at what time these really long queues where you have a really long wait occur.  Some comments seem to suggest it is very late at night when many flights from China come in around the same time.  Is that the case or is it busy throughout the day?  It would be good to know.....maybe we could start a new / separate thread where anyone flying in can state their arrival time, how long the queues are and what the wait time to be processed is?

[gintis0604]

1 minute ago, mstevens said:

I'd be interested in knowing at what time these really long queues where you have a really long wait occur.  Some comments seem to suggest it is very late at night when many flights from China come in around the same time.  Is that the case or is it busy throughout the day?  It would be good to know.....maybe we could start a new / separate thread where anyone flying in can state their arrival time, how long the queues are and what the wait time to be processed is?

It was in the afternoon. The most of the people waiting were Chinese.

It doesn't matter. What I want to point at, is that the Thais can't plan, organize or solve a problem. They just don't care.

2 of 6 desks open and, at least, 300 waiting!!! 

[gunghang]

When I fly back home, I think I'll make Chiang Mai or Chiang Rai or Phuket my port of entry.

 

I'll just be a transfer passenger at Swampy or DM and avoid all those lines.

 

Or maybe I should just travel overland.

[Dibbler]

The answer is book your next departure/ arrival with the professional greeting service. 1300thb well spent to by-pass the queues right to the boarding gate!

[Thian]

I don't understand why you guys have so many problems at the immigration! 

 

I always ask for captain Jack and he always smiles to me and is very kind 

 

 

 

Edited August 11, 2017 by Thian

[Wake Up]

5 hours ago, MarkyM3 said:

That's not typical of Heathrow for British/EU passport holders in my experience. I fly back and forward several times per year to BKK and elsewhere and while Heathrow has plenty of faults, I cannot recall waiting more than approx 30 minutes, usually it's more like 15-20 mins at most. Luggage can certainly take longer, especially if in economy.

 

If you are non-EU then I can't speak for the wait there. The recent problem Heathrow has had is with the automated passport reading machines, which seem to cause a lot of problems.

I am American and the wait was a little over 2 hours at heathrow and the service was terrible. In the USA I can use the machines to go through immigration in less than 10 minutes but London has gotten horrible my last 5 trips. A minimum of one hour and the last time over 2 hours. At least when you leave London you don't have to go through immigration.  I don't look forward to my next trip to London and dread their ever increasing immigration que. 

[Stargeezr]

I have to say that when I am flying internally in Thailand I fly to Swampy and take the BTS

to my relatives place. I also see people with 2 big suitcases getting to their hotels in the city

for less than 100 baht versus 500 baht or more with a crooked taxi driver. So for the one who

is insulted by this.  Not every one wants to pay 500 baht or more when the BTS will get you to

your place guaranteed without ripping you off. UNDERSTAND? I have only been to Swampy once

and have had to wait for more than an hour to get through immigration, and that was when the

weather was crappy enroute and some flights came in delayed. We were told by the captain

on decent that there may be a delay because of all the airplanes arriving nearly at the same time.

  Way better service than I got at Vancouver B.C  Canada. Came back from Hawaii and we waited in

the jet for one hour to even get from the ramp to the gate to be unloaded, then more time waitingfor

luggage because our jet Air Canada was delayed in arriving and the staff at Vancouver was not there

waiting for our flight.  In the terminal there was nobody letting us So, just letting you know that there are

other places in the world that have problems as well.

Geezer

[Blackheart1916]

7 hours ago, dcnx said:

They quietly allowed the banned zero dollar tours to return. Everyone was losing too much money.

That comment makes no sense, which makes it perfectly understandable in this country ha ha!!

[sandyf]

29 minutes ago, Wake Up said:

I am American and the wait was a little over 2 hours at heathrow and the service was terrible. In the USA I can use the machines to go through immigration in less than 10 minutes but London has gotten horrible my last 5 trips. A minimum of one hour and the last time over 2 hours. At least when you leave London you don't have to go through immigration.  I don't look forward to my next trip to London and dread their ever increasing immigration que. 

Quite right and the automation is making things a lot worse for people in my position. I came in to LHR Terminal 5 last month and they do not have desks for EU passports only gates so I had to wait in the non EU queue with my wife. At other terminals I could take my wife through the EU desks.

I hate think what it will be like if the gates become UK passports only. People think Thailand is bad, I came into BKK on Tuesday and was about the same time as I was at Heathrow.

[elgenon]

But they want more tourists. Will the "quality tourists" they want be willing to face this? I think not.

 

I prefer to pee in a flower pot at least. They need to have mobile toilets (drones that can be called by your phone). OMG a million dollar idea that I just gave away..

[garbolino]

I seem to remember some years ago they moved many people from swampy to DM to ease congestion at DM 

They should have enough people trained for both airports !!

[gandalf12]

They need to run ORAT trails with international bodies in charge of them. That way the obvious problems woud come to light and hopefully solutions to them

[SunsetT]

On 10/08/2017 at 5:44 AM, Thian said:

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.

Dont ditch your water bottle at the  security check. Empty it and hang on to it.  You  may need it later........

[alt]

12 hours ago, Dibbler said:

The answer is book your next departure/ arrival with the professional greeting service. 1300thb well spent to by-pass the queues right to the boarding gate!

Can you please provide more info on this and confirm that it means no long Q's at immigration (outgoing)?

 

It looks like we'll be flying back Economy so 1300THB will be money well spent if we don't have to Q. Even before this mess started, we'd normally be about 40 mins standing in line.

[rotorbreeze]

On 8/9/2017 at 9:36 PM, Bluespunk said:

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

I have a return ticket back to Bkk Sept 23rd should I extend a month till Immigration get more staff or is this to continue?....Lonesome for Thailand...Mr. Ron

 

[brewsterbudgen]

I have a return ticket back to Bkk Sept 23rd should I extend a month till Immigration get more staff or is this to continue?....Lonesome for Thailand...Mr. Ron
 

There has always been congestion at peak times. I doubt it will be any better in October.

[wanjieming]

Udon Thani is not an international Airport

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[JohnOFphon]

I had to wait almost 2 hours Sunday..(6th) when coming from Cambodia. Aranyapraphet border crossing at 9am and 4 windows were open. Damned good thing I didn't have to go pee. The closes toilet was a half hour walk back the way I came.

[Kadilo]

Udon Thani is not an international Airport

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It's always amuses me because there is a ginormous sign at the entrance saying it is but I can only think it's called that because it goes International via BKK


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[siam2007]

1 hour ago, Kadilo said:

It's always amuses me because there is a ginormous sign at the entrance saying it is but I can only think it's called that because it goes International via BKK


Sent from my iPhone using Thailand Forum - Thaivisa mobile app

 

Of course it is an international airport and there have been scheduled international flights in the past (to Singapore)

[Kadilo]

 
Of course it is an international airport and there have been scheduled international flights in the past (to Singapore)

If it makes you feel better ......:)


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[free123]

On 10.8.2017 at 6:36 AM, Bluespunk said:

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

a good way to make sure the falang dont come again