First impressions suffer as airport immigration queues grow

[buksida]

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The tourism industry is facing a headache during this high season, with travellers having to queue up for extended periods at Suvarnabhumi Airport's immigration section.

"I had to wait at the airport immigration counter for 70 minutes," Joseph Greiner wrote to my mail box on January 24. He continued that most flights were delayed because of the "professionals" in charge of immigration. Only half of the counters were manned.

Mr Greiner is not alone. Many complaints have been filed to travel associations via travel agents and also heard by the Immigration Bureau Commissioner, Pol Lt Gen Chatchawal Suksomjitwhich, who promised an improvement of the service.

"But nothing has changed since," said Tourism and Sports Minister, Chumpol Silpa-archa, who confirmed that the issue was also discussed at a recent cabinet meeting.

The Immigration Bureau explained that they did not have enough staff and have a problem with equipment as their computers are old, slow at processing and sometimes malfunction.

At Suvarnabhumi Airport, there are 70 immigration counters, but only 40 are open during office working hours. At night, the numbers are dramatically reduced.

"I left for China on February 4 at 3am. There were only two immigration counters available so the queue was long," said Anake Srishevachart, president of the Thai-Japan Tourist Association. His solution was to be at the airport at least three hours before his chartered flight was due to take off.

The long queueing period at the immigration section not only affects departure passengers, but also arrivals.

The inbound and outbound traffic at Suvarnabhumi has doubled from an average 50,000 travellers a day to some 100,000 during the high season, said Piyaman Tejapaibul, president of the Tourism Council of Thailand.

"The problem that can be fixed right away is to allocate enough officers to match the numbers of tourists," she said. "This is a question of good management. We want the Immigration Bureau to emphasise service."

To make their complaints formal, the association will submit their letter today to the Joint Public and Private Sector Consultative Committee, which is presided over by the Prime Minister.

As first impressions have a lasting impact Thailand can not stand to leave unpleasant feeling in any tourists' minds.

"This is an urgent issue that needs to be addressed," said the Tourism and Sports Minister.

Source: Bangkok Post

[STEVE G]

Perhaps they need to modernize the whole system to make it less labour intensive.
Something like a barcode on the exit card that they could swipe, look at your picture on the screen and let you go or send you to another office if you've done something wrong. (With biometrics a computer and a turnstile could do that!)
They also need more flexibility with staff numbers to deal with demand as the inbound system gets swamped if several 747s land within twenty minutes or so.
As a passenger it's a bit of a lottery; when I arrived in early December, it was the first time in many years of visiting Thailand that I'd walked straight up to a desk without waiting at all, but a friend arrived at the same time the next day and had to wait for nearly an hour.

[Terry]

Perhaps they need to modernize the whole system to make it less labour intensive.
Something like a barcode on the exit card that they could swipe, look at your picture on the screen and let you go or send you to another office if you've done something wrong. (With biometrics a computer and a turnstile could do that!).........

Sorry Steve, but that's too easy and too logical

[E-Dork]

Yup..... Couldn't arrange a piss up in a brewery comes to mind.

[PeteC]

After long trans Pacific flights I've seen people pass out while standing in line. Not only here but in Hong Kong as well where the line moves relatively quickly. Some people have not been between the sheets for 30 hours+ and some can't sleep at all on a plane. These folks are usually not in good shape and the last thing their body wants to do is stand in a line for an hour or more. Next time in one of those lines after a long flight, look at the people who are swaying on their feet, there are many, especially the elderly. I guess those who pass out and hit the floor get taken to the front of the line. An 'over 60' line would not be a bad idea. Pete

[Jim]

Anyone want to comment about the boom in Thailand being reflected in passenger numbers doubling? I'd have thought this is a good news story, not another 'Thailand is ****' one?

[Dr Mike]

It is unlikely to improve--When a govt is weak or disorganised the civil service will always become less public-satisfaction concerned as there is no directive from above. No angry MPs reacting to letters from angry constituents

Another very annoying thing is that re-entry Visa used to be be purchased at the Airport--now that service has been discontinued.

[Randy Cornhole]

Hasn't there already been a thread on this...?

[Spitfire]

Many complaints have been filed to travel associations via travel agents and also heard by the Immigration Bureau Commissioner, Pol Lt Gen Chatchawal Suksomjitwhich, who promised an improvement of the service.

Don't make me laugh. There's only about ten thousand in the immigration service.

The Immigration Bureau explained that they did not have enough staff and have a problem with equipment as their computers are old, slow at processing and sometimes malfunction.

Is that a piss take or something? Maybe a cry for more money to be grafted away. How can everything be "out of date" already with this? Unless of course they are admitting their comlpete institutional incompetence in the first place when they put it all in?

"The problem that can be fixed right away is to allocate enough officers to match the numbers of tourists," she said. "This is a question of good management. We want the Immigration Bureau to emphasise service."

Well done Sherlock!

To make their complaints formal, the association will submit their letter today to the Joint Public and Private Sector Consultative Committee, which is presided over by the Prime Minister.

Like that'll make any difference.

As first impressions have a lasting impact Thailand can not stand to leave unpleasant feeling in any tourists' minds.

That's really, really funny!

[Super Joe]

Anyone want to comment about the boom in Thailand being reflected in passenger numbers doubling? I'd have thought this is a good news story, not another 'Thailand is ****' one?

Good point Jim, no wine tonight? Now, I'm not known ( ) for defending our hosts or seeing things through rose-tinted spectacles, but I do think we've only got ourselves to blame here. From the article: "traffic at Suvarnabhumi has doubled from an average 50,000 travellers a day to some 100,000 during the high season"
What the hell do we expect them to do... train up, pay, cloth, feed and bus in a whole second team of officers just cos we love visiting the country sooo much? Then lay them off again during low season when we're too tight to visit.

"I had to wait at the airport immigration counter for 70 minutes," Joseph Groaner ... '70 minutes' ... what like a whole half-hour longer than an average airport queing time, once a 'kin year... well boo hoo Joshua. Are you really that selfish that in order to a few precious minutes, you'd happily see a young persons dream for a better life shattered, when they get laid off in low season. And their uniforms taken away.

In all seriousness they should try and do something about it, it is annoying, but Don Muang was always a long queue, it's nothing new for here unfortunately. We'd only be having 70 minutes longer sleep in the hotel lobby cos are rooms weren't yet ready, and we do complain a bit about how crazily fast the taxi drove from the airport to the hotel. So even their measures to recover the delays are not good enough for us. But in the grand scheme of things it is a good story for the obvious reason, and they were complaining about this in 2007 too, so the record number of visitors last year included the 6 that never returned because they can't queue.

They know it won't put many off at the end of the day, flying anywhere especially longhaul is always a nightmare and I don't really think the immigration part is what you remember particularly!? At the end of the day most will have enjoyed their trip and think back on that, instead of a queue surrounded by family members, in an air-cooled hall with high ceilings and marble floors. People queue for every ride at Disney World and still wanna go back every year, queue for cup final pubs/game and it'll be your best day out.

Having said that, they should reduce the times and get their acts together like us, well apart from when it's snowing. Or a bit hazy from volcanoes and that.

SJ

[charlesh]

What the hell do we expect them to do... train up, pay, cloth, feed and bus in a whole second team of officers just cos we love visiting the country sooo much? Then lay them off again during low season when we're too tight to visit.

Are you really that selfish that in order to a few precious minutes, you'd happily see a young persons dream for a better life shattered, when they get laid off in low season. And their uniforms taken away.

I note they are exit queues and that perhaps the leaving passengers have served their fiscal purpose.
PS SJ if they take their nice white starched uniforms back will they have to return their service ribbons too ha, ha ??
PPS they all get a job in HomePro during the off season.

[margaretcarnes]

Perhaps they need to modernize the whole system to make it less labour intensive.
Something like a barcode on the exit card that they could swipe, look at your picture on the screen and let you go or send you to another office if you've done something wrong. (With biometrics a computer and a turnstile could do that!)
They also need more flexibility with staff numbers to deal with demand as the inbound system gets swamped if several 747s land within twenty minutes or so.
As a passenger it's a bit of a lottery; when I arrived in early December, it was the first time in many years of visiting Thailand that I'd walked straight up to a desk without waiting at all, but a friend arrived at the same time the next day and had to wait for nearly an hour.

I arrived at Swampy mid October. Ok - low season - but also walked straight up to the desk - well almost. There were 2 or 3 people ahead of us in the Q but an officer (who looked strangely familiar I must admit) rushed over from the Thai immigration desk and hustled us over to it so 'no have to wait'.
Never had such good service. Through - done - out. We were stunned. Maybe recognised as having both had our Brit passports issued in Bangers?
But Pete has a good point as well. 30 hour waits are hell on earth on top of an 11 hour flight - as I well know having been stuck in Schipol for 30 hours plus last December. There the service was abhorent. No announcements - no help - Him Indoors unable to stand for very long anyway and Q's several hundred yards long. I ended up standing in a Q there for 2 hours just to get our boarding passes changed - no seats - no access to food or water - in a stifling and crowded small area at gate D6. People were sitting on the stairs in the Q - they were the lucky ones! So for me Swampy isn't too bad at all. I would much rather be stuck there than at some other airports.
I wouldn't particularly want automatic preferential treatment as an over 60, but would like to see people with disabilities - and people with young children - given much better service. At Schipol that didn't happen. One Mum with a severely disabled child sprawled on top of a regular luggage trolley had to fight her way through the crowd at the gate. I don't think that would ever happen at Swampy.

[Takiap]

Well, having lived in the UK for 10+ years, and flying in and out via Heathrow every two to three weeks, in my opinion Swampy is a zillion times quicker and more efficient. On a sale of 1 to 10, I would rate Swampy at about 8, while Heathrow at around 3.


In fact, now that I know my "rights" here in LOS, I would give swampy a full score of 10, because being married to a Thai, I am able to pass through the Thai passport control if I'm with the missus

[dozer]

I am with you on that one Takiap, Heathrow immigration is an absolute nightmare.
Arriving at terminal 3 is like arriving in some backward third world country, it’s a cesspit.

[BaaBaa.]

I've never had a problem at Suvarnabhumi, 20-30 minutes at most departing and 5-10 minutes on arrival, I do tend to book near the front of the plane and walk rather quickly to immigration though to beat the rush.

Manchester is even better on arrival, scan your Passport and stare into a camera and you're through, I'm outside having a Cigarette in less than 10 minutes of the Plane doors opening.