BKK airport not coping: 2 hour queues

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I just came across this on the JAL site.

[h=1]To passengers departing from Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport[/h]
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To passengers departing from Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport

Due to the renovation work of immigration area at Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport, the numbers of the immigration counters are limited and it causes severe congestion.

In order to ensure to take your flight, it is recommended to come to the airport for check-in 2 hours before departure time and proceed to the immigration process right after check-in.
[Check-in counter open time]

JL708 to Narita 5:45am
JL034 to Haneda, JL718 to Narita, JL728 to Osaka 7:20pm

March 8, 2012
Japan Airlines
 
Was fortunate enough to be in CX J on my BKK trip late last year. Had access to the express security/immigration line. I definitely got the impression that I dodged a bullet after seeing the long queues.
 
Last year at Easter I flew from KUL to BKK. It took longer to clear immigration and customs at BKK than the actual flight. Maybe there were more foreign passengers than normal because of Easter. But just seemed to be understaffed, about half the immigration desks were empty.
 
I arrived last night and inbound immigration was empty.
There was a mob of several hundred pax following me though and another half-dozen flights arriving in quick succession.
 
I fly in and out quite often and I dread outbound immigration - has *always* been a killer, and now with renovations, they're a full section short. It's truly annoying to see the Thai Passport queues empty and Foreign full and they don't even bother to ask you to step forward.

I fly with my Thai PA often, and on some occasions, they'll allow me to go with her through Thai Passport Holders, and at other times, I'll be waved back to the Foreign queue just as we are about to step forward, which is really bad especially when that line has gotten 3x longer! (Inbound they seem more agreeable to allow me into the country with her, go figure.)

Inbound can be long queues, but usually they're pretty good for the flights I'm returning on. I think they could improve, by allowing foreigners through their Thai lanes, when nobody is there, but that would mean thinking a little laterally - something I've found they don't do well at the best of times, so being a government department, it'll probably *never* happen any time soon.

I left yesterday for HKG, and it was pretty quick - the quickest I've been through in a long time - and that was through their newly renovated area.
 
I have fly through BKK a couple of times a year and never really had to wait a long time. Will be back there in 3 weeks and will have another look.
 
Last time I passed through it took me 2hrs to find out where I could get an arrival's card from. The crew on my flight didn't hand them out and I thought 'oh well, I'll just pick one up at the counters near the immigration queues'....wrong!! What counters? Not only that but no staff either (aside from the ones checking passports), I wasn't about to line up only to be turned away because of no card. After a mammoth hike of Suvarnabhumi I managed to find an info desk who had no idea where I could get an arrival's card from. I was finally rescued by a Thai Airways fast-track immigration staff member who wasn't very happy to be dealing with a Y pax. :rolleyes: Welcome to Thailand. The only thing crazier is the cattle-yard downstairs where tourists are herded into taxi's where the drivers speak no English and cannot read a Thai address written in English. The nice people who tell your taxi driver your destination before you get in don't understand your address written in English either. Last time I needed to get to Ratchada, and ended up on a 8 lane overpass in god knows where, dodging traffic while trying to contact my hotel on the driver's mobile. :shock: My visit was so exciting I vowed never to return.
 
I have fly through BKK a couple of times a year and never really had to wait a long time. Will be back there in 3 weeks and will have another look.

Same here........unlike LHR:shock:
 
Same here........unlike LHR:shock:

last transit in LHR I was close to screaming by how slow and unfriendly the staff were. Even though I have a EU passport it took ages. Lucky (or unfortunately) I have a 6h transit in April.
 
Why judge a country by it's airport?

Even when delays were supposed to be happening when the airport first opened they were only 15-20 minutes delays.

Not sure what is happening and everything was OK in January but things can change quickly in Thailand. I will be there again next month and this time only flying Qantas economy so not sure if I get express arrivals and departures. I need to check if I have any express arrivals from previous trips. I will be flying CX business a few days later so may keep a few of these anyway.

I remember a few years ago the trip from Bangkok airport to Pattaya was taking at least 2:30-3:00 hours due to all the construction work on the roads. Now the same trip is less than 90 minutes.
 
Not sure what is happening and everything was OK in January but things can change quickly in Thailand. I will be there again next month and this time only flying Qantas economy so not sure if I get express arrivals and departures.

The CSM gave us a some when we were flying in economy last month so you should be ok.
 
The CSM gave us a some when we were flying in economy last month so you should be ok.

Untypical I know, but I arrived in F last month and there were no Fast Track cards on board. (CSM was apologetic)
I had the benefit of spare cards in my bag so no great hardship, but I can imagine some disgruntled premium pax when confronted with the queues which were bad at the time.
 
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Was fortunate enough to be in CX J on my BKK trip late last year. Had access to the express security/immigration line. I definitely got the impression that I dodged a bullet after seeing the long queues.

I managed to do the same when my hotel driver/meet n greet guy got me through the express line, was very thankful.

TG
 
The CSM gave us a some when we were flying in economy last month so you should be ok.
Sounds good. It has been a while since I have flown Qantas to/from Thailand. It may even be the old airport....
 
Some may laugh at Thai immigration - but I average around 20-35mins inbound and outbound in Tokyo and Osaka, Sydney can be anywhere from 20mins to 1hr and Cairns somtimes 1 to 1.5+ hours......

Last time I did Bangkok was 10 years ago so not really representative, but don't remember it being very long. Ditto for Manilla around 10years ago - wasn't a huge deal there either.
 
With BKK airport it all depends on the time of day/night you arrive.

I remember a few late night arrival early on where the queues were long and it would take ~20-45 minutes to get through and other times there would hardly be anyone in the queues. It would all depend on how quickly you got off the aircraft and how quickly you got to immigration.

If you receive express arrivals or departures then in theory you will not notice any of the queues. If not then it may be worthwhile to spend 700 baht on an escorted priority immigration service.
 
Arriving in Y on the QF flight last week (23.20 arrival from SYD) there was virtually no queue. Departing in J I cheated and used the priority lines with no problem, so can't comment on those, however I was told to get to the airport and checkin 3 hours before departure due to queues... o_O

And as for the comments regarding a lack of immigration cards - had the same problem arriving here in KL. No immigration card given on the flight, no cards at the desk and my hotel meet-and-greeter ran around trying to find one before I got to the front of the "ASIC/Officials/Diplomats/Other" queue (apparently hotel guest is Other!). Despite the fact I had no form, they let me into the country without question....I'm a bit worried about departure though, since everyone else had the departure card inserted into their passport with the comment "Don't lose this card..." ;) Could think of worse places to be stuck though!
 
Why judge a country by it's airport?

Even when delays were supposed to be happening when the airport first opened they were only 15-20 minutes delays.

Not sure what is happening and everything was OK in January but things can change quickly in Thailand. I will be there again next month and this time only flying Qantas economy so not sure if I get express arrivals and departures. I need to check if I have any express arrivals from previous trips. I will be flying CX business a few days later so may keep a few of these anyway.

I remember a few years ago the trip from Bangkok airport to Pattaya was taking at least 2:30-3:00 hours due to all the construction work on the roads. Now the same trip is less than 90 minutes.

They have shut down 2/3 of the immigration counters due to renovations. I was caught out on the first day on arrival, departure was even worse.

Be aware they have changed the style of the express card, I was busted trying to use an old one and had to go back to the general area.

Meloz
 
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