200 more immigration officials deployed at Don Mueang and Suvarnabhumi airports

[Knocker33]

5 hours ago, leeneeds said:

Mostly I look for a lady in the booths as they are,  in my opinion are so much more efficient,

 

I think that applies to nearly everything in Thailand. The male population generally have the mentality of a five year old

[bkkcanuck8]

57 minutes ago, chrisinth said:

And to add to the mix, how many of the 200 are aquanted with the computer systems?
 

Probably all of them.  It is one system, different modules - but primarily one system.

[bberrythailand]

6 hours ago, leeneeds said:

Mostly I look for a lady in the booths as they are,  in my opinion are so much more efficient,

 

 

True ! And it's a general rule in this country were men are less than useless, whatever they do.

 

 

[daboyz1]

I suspect they're giving these officers a 1 month holiday in Bangkok. Expect everything to be all screwed up again in 30 days.

[sanemax]

2 hours ago, Mitch82 said:

It's looks like immigration have lifted their game at swampy for today at least. Nearly all of the immigration departure gates were manned.

 

25 min from the time I presented at check in until the time I was through immigration. 

How it should be....

Thailand is becoming like Singapore is , all clean efficient and new , I do miss Thailands old charm , it just aint the same anymore

[JAG]

I love indulging in conspiracy theories... One off the wall theory is that police and army are like two different mafia families. 
Right now the army is attacking the police. Giving them smaller budgets and stopping them from hiring is a way to hurt them. Another way would be to make up laws that prohibit police to own night clubs..
On the other hand, for police to slowly remove personnel from the major airports is a way to embarass the leadership of the country.
 
Im almost convinced that the police and the mafia is the same people in thailand.
Army I dont have much info about...but wouldn't be extremely suprised ......

I,m not too sure that it is "off the wall" actually!

[Dap]

TWO HUNDRED more???? Really?? 

[Psimbo]

Head of Immigration does nothing- Thaigeezers moan, Head of Immigration does something to alleviate a problem (albeit papering over the cracks)- Thaigeezers complain. Just no pleasing some people.

I've rarely, if ever, been delayed at Swampy, DM or Phuket (by delayed I mean more than 20 minutes)- comparing the systems at KL and Singers with those currently in place here is frankly ridiculous. 

 

People comment on the dourness of the IOs- if I had to deal with hundreds of ill-prepared people a day I would be pretty dour as well. A smile and a thank you to them often is reciprocated, Maybe its just my natural charm though.

 

I do however think that those with re-entry permits should be allowed to use the other channels

 

BTW congrats to the person that managed to work Boss into this thread!

[moe666]

The next time I go back to the states send a few over before I arrive maybe I will not have to wait so long next time/ Over an hour atLax immigration and customs

[scorecard]

2 hours ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

Why would they open the Thai lanes for non-Thais that are only temporary residents?

 

PR holders I could understand however.

 

Twenty plus years ago when I got PR I was standing in the incoming farang line and a cruising imm. officer noticed I was holding my passport and my Thai PR book.

 

He came over quickly and politely took me to the Thai line, and said, 'in future please always use the Thai line'.

 

I will add a few times Thais in the line have tried to tell me, usually with hand signals that 'farang should  use the line 'over there'. I hold up my PR book and instantly the comments / hand signals stop and I get a few kor tord khrap comments (although I guess 99% of the Thais in that line don't even know what the book is (why would they), but it does have a nice garuda symbol).

Edited August 14, 2017 by scorecard

[elliss]

7 hours ago, BasalBanality said:

So those "in service to their superiors" are relieved of those duties and reverted to their actual paid jobs within Immigration?

 

I

   Expect  delays,  at your local immigration office.  

[sanemax]

2 hours ago, Bangyo1948 said:

I have yet to see an immigration officer smile or say welcome to Thailand.

I have never been asked by an Immigration officer whether I want to go and visit him at home and meet his family and all go on holiday together , They've never even asked me whether I want to friends with them on Facebook .

   They should get the girls from Pattaya to be immigration officers at airports , they could sit inside their booths shouting out "Welcome handsum man , come inside" 

[kkerry]

3 hours ago, mtls2005 said:

 

Last weeks kerfuffle at SBIA/BKK was for ARRIVING Immigration; departing Immigration seems to be a bit better as they have a decent handle on scheduling and staffing, perhaps? There was a dust-up in February at departing Imm with quite a few people missing planes.

 

Departures can be bad as well.

 

Last month 10AM weekday at Suvarnabhumi they had staff blocking off the escalator to departures at the post office end due to overcrowding. The other end where everyone was being directed to wasn't much better. Thought for a while I was going to miss my flight despite arriving nearly three hours before departure.

[Jonnapat]

8 hours ago, colinneil said:

Amazing how they can suddenly find 200 officers.

So what were they all doing before? Sleeping/ playing on their phones maybe.

Working in their ""inactive posts""

[Laughing Gravy]

7 hours ago, ChrisY1 said:

Almost always, the women officers are more efficient

Although joking aside, I have to agree 100 percent. In fact in the many times I have waited in the queue I have noticed on average that the women process visitors 2.5 times more than the ,men. in fact I would love to do a proper study on it with quantifiable data. as we know that will never happen, we can leave the men to plan and lead, as they do so gloriously.

 

It is no wonder that the women build the houses, and the roads and maintain Thailand in its beautiful form. Good job to the men letting them do it so well. Maybe they can forward think for the future and not allow this mess at immigration to happen again. Ah well drinks at the local massage parlour to discuss it.

[Bangyo1948]

46 minutes ago, sanemax said:

I have never been asked by an Immigration officer whether I want to go and visit him at home and meet his family and all go on holiday together , They've never even asked me whether I want to friends with them on Facebook .

   They should get the girls from Pattaya to be immigration officers at airports , they could sit inside their booths shouting out "Welcome handsum man , come inside" 

Ahhhh poor you......that said, they are however first line of the friendly Thai experience many come for and so often is being advertised by TAT

[StayinThailand2much]

4 hours ago, sandyf said:

Maybe something to do with no IO's on the Thai lane - only gates.

Its a bit the same at Heathrow T5  only gates for UK/EU passports. When I went through 5 weeks ago there was only one IO on the non EU and people were being pulled from the queue based on the time of their connecting flight, took well over an hour.

 

Only the narrow minded would think that immigration problems are only in Thailand.

Well, I always calculate 1 hour when going through immigration, but the 4 or 5 hours in Thailand are excessive. And I've never heard of people queuing at Heathrow, having to release themselves right then and there...

[realenglish1]

3 hours ago, Father Fintan Stack said:

Why would they open the Thai lanes for non-Thais that are only temporary residents?

 

PR holders I could understand however.

To speed up the lanes and give residence temporary speedy service Just because they may be temporary does that mean they should stand in long lines

[Laughing Gravy]

1 hour ago, Psimbo said:

Head of Immigration does nothing- Thaigeezers moan, Head of Immigration does something to alleviate a problem (albeit papering over the cracks)- Thaigeezers complain. Just no pleasing some people.

I've rarely, if ever, been delayed at Swampy, DM or Phuket (by delayed I mean more than 20 minutes)- comparing the systems at KL and Singers with those currently in place here is frankly ridiculous. 

I was lead to believe Thailand was much better than Malaysia and its other Asian counterparts. Obviously you are talking absolute rubbish. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to realize if the more immigration officers. You also need to realsie that Thailand TOT and the amount of tourists it has needs more immigration officers. Also Thailand as amazing as it is and I genuinely men that, only 64 million people on the planet speak Thai, so they need to be more diverse in its language and operation systems, at immigration check points and accept the justifiable criticism.

[realenglish1]

5 hours ago, sandyf said:

Maybe something to do with no IO's on the Thai lane - only gates.

Its a bit the same at Heathrow T5  only gates for UK/EU passports. When I went through 5 weeks ago there was only one IO on the non EU and people were being pulled from the queue based on the time of their connecting flight, took well over an hour.

 

Only the narrow minded would think that immigration problems are only in Thailand.

No not narrow minded  Going into the USA they have computers that can scan visa's and passports first Then if you need secondary inspection they direct you to another lane This is not narrow minded It's called efficient  Maybe you Brits like the status quo 

[sandyf]

7 minutes ago, StayinThailand2much said:

Well, I always calculate 1 hour when going through immigration, but the 4 or 5 hours in Thailand are excessive. And I've never heard of people queuing at Heathrow, having to release themselves right then and there...

First time for everything, and Europe is not immune.

 

Tourists arriving at European airports are waiting up to four hours to be allowed entry after border controls were increased.

http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/british-tourists-european-airport-eu-border-controls-otughen-security-summer-holidays-a7870571.html

[mtls2005]

1 hour ago, moe666 said:

The next time I go back to the states send a few over before I arrive maybe I will not have to wait so long next time/ Over an hour atLax immigration and customs

 

I've been using Global Entry (also qualifies you for TSAPre) for over five years, just renewed. Takes ~ 60 seconds at a kiosk, and fast-track for Customs.

 

Chatter on Thai social media is that the jobs at the airport are the least desirable positions owing to hard, boring work, long hours, bad commutes, odd scheduling, no holidays, potential to screw up, lack of extra revenue-enhancing opportunities. Staffing has, and will probably always be an challenge unless the positions/pay/benefits are somehow enhanced.

 

 

[StayinThailand2much]

15 minutes ago, mtls2005 said:

Chatter on Thai social media is that the jobs at the airport are the least desirable positions owing to hard, boring work, long hours, bad commutes, odd scheduling, no holidays, potential to screw up, lack of extra revenue-enhancing opportunities. Staffing has, and will probably always be an challenge unless the positions/pay/benefits are somehow enhanced.

 

Always when I suggest a job to Thai job seekers, the common answer is 'too hard, too boring, not enough money'...

[Muhendis]

3 hours ago, sanemax said:

Thailand is becoming like Singapore is , all clean efficient and new , I do miss Thailands old charm , it just aint the same anymore

Thailands old charm is Dirty, inefficient and old?

[Laughing Gravy]

24 minutes ago, sandyf said:

First time for everything, and Europe is not immune.

 

Tourists arriving at European airports are waiting up to four hours to be allowed entry after border controls were increased.

http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/news-and-advice/british-tourists-european-airport-eu-border-controls-otughen-security-summer-holidays-a7870571.html

A really poor excuse of an argument especially regarding brexit. Where are the more extensive checks in Thailand and for what? Another pro EU paper talking what the quality of its journalism deserves. It should be in squares in a toilet on a nail.  So why just BRITISH tourists Sandy? You have sunk to a new low.

 

"Tourists arriving at European airports are waiting up to four hours to be allowed entry after border controls were increased.

British holidaymakers have been warned they face longer waiting times because of more extensive immigration checks."

[Thaidream]

The number of Western tourists are dwindling and will continue to do so simply because Thailand has lost its charm. Why fly 12-15 hours to eat at McDonalds and drink beer at a British or Irish Pub.  It's even getting hard to find street food plus the traffic jams are huge each day. Throw in long lines at Immigration and the public votes with its feet.

[Lokie]

Flew from Manchester UK last Wednesday 20.0 with Etihad Via Abu-Dhabi to Phuket; at security, stand in  full body scanner - cleared, passed through then told to stand and then patted down and hand wand used also (I asked why being patted down when just been scanned clear?) reply tightened security (observing that all pax were having same that evening last Wednesday) my hand luggage is flagged in X-ray machine and automatically flips to back side chute (with lots of others ready to be searched by hand) OK, turns out I had a small can of GT-10 spray (Heart medication) was placed in snap bag and away I goes...

 

I fly then (bonded basically) to Abu-Dhabi where I have to undergo security again, this time no where near anything as strict as Manchester, just walk through a metal detector that seems to go off on everyone but hardly anyone gets stopped for pat down? my bag trundles through the x-ray (the magic snap bag must be working good as this time bag is not flagged for inspection, although maybe is the fact the Emerati's on x-ray are busy chatting to each other and not really looking at screens?? Then get to Phuket, was about 20 min Que then 5 mins at Immigration while he looked at every page in my passport (I am on a SETV) no dodgy trips ever all above board - Whats all that about, I have a visa, they have everything and more on me via that application made at Hull consulate, why a silly bit of paper - nothing to do with numbers or security, just a job making, money system plain & simple.

 

I always think of that warehouse in Indiana Jones Raiders of the Lost Ark where the Ark of the Covenant is kept, huge Gigantic place stacked to the ceiling with crap in crates.... that goes on for miles... there must be a place like this in LOS, full of paper from all the crap and stupid forms farangs have to fill in (and pay for lol) and thats just from immigration?

 

Will never change to electronic based system as there is not enough scope for money to be made out of it at all levels... 

 

As has been mentioned in the thread, people on bona vida visas etc should just be a matter of a simply swipe and away you go, then they could concentrate on pax who come in on visa waiver etc or visa on arrival - but that would be too simple, what am I thinking...?

 

Just prior to retiring I was involved with LEAN THINKING in the Rail industry I worked in, you know 6 Sigma, SMART etc, Cor Blimey they could do with getting MR EIJI Toyoda over here, he would make a killing if he was still about lol.... Talk about efficiency... 

 

 

 

Edited August 14, 2017 by Lokie

[sanemax]

20 minutes ago, Thaidream said:

The number of Western tourists are dwindling and will continue to do so simply because Thailand has lost its charm. Why fly 12-15 hours to eat at McDonalds and drink beer at a British or Irish Pub.

If tourists decide to drink in Irish bars and eat at McDonalds , then that is what they prefer to do , no one is forcing them to do so and there are many other options .

    Also, I dont think that people fly for 15 hours , just to eat cheap food on the streets

[Ossy]

8 hours ago, jacko45k said:

Yes I do too, they seem to have less attitude too.

Probably less hungover, too.

[bergenser1]

Why? Officially all the counters are manned at Suvarnabhumi. Have they been hiding something?