Airport queues: Immigration chief at Bangkok airport, meeting planned for Thursday

[thaiboss]

5 hours ago, sotsira said:

Confused!

 

I keep reading how tourist numbers are down and it's so 

quiet in all the tourist destinations around Thailand.

 

Now the airport is overrun with long queues due to so many 

arrivals, IO's will need to do overtime and increase their output

by 30%.

 

So which is it?

Bangkok city is full of chinese tourist bts mrt all full that i saw last week most hotels are also fullbooked

[damascase]

4 minutes ago, Jimbo53 said:

Fast Track Lane for Seniors age 70 yrs of age,and above,and for Farangs.

Over seventy, the sign says (tjed sib gwaa, in Thai}:

[Percy P]

5 hours ago, Stocky said:

Lucky tourist numbers are down, otherwise the queues would be longer!

I think the issue is with the extra time taken to process fingerprints.

Every time I go though Imm at Padang Besar they take my finger prints .It's time consuming it they have already taken them.

can't the computer store them . 

[alan grice]

Don Muddle Airports nothing but a farce these day. Swampy charge hi landing fees so Cattle Class wont go there anymore [emoji207]


Sent from my iPhone using Thaivisa Connect

[Chivas]

Tell me.....am I the only person who has never experienced "long waits" at immigration ??  Yes I have been in long snakes but they move quickly and always have done.

I cant remember anything other than 20 minutes tops at most

[Tuvoc]

Heathrow can be just as bad for non-EU passport holders. I've waited in that queue for over an hour a couple of times. 

 

[fxe1200]

5 hours ago, andre47 said:

There are priority lanes processing people aged?

I never saw them. How old you have to be to use them and are they also for farang?

You can be a farang, and you have to be 70 years old.

[theoldgit]

I was under the impression that Thailand introduced an Advance Passenger Processing System a few years ago, the cost of which is included in our flight tickets, coupled with the fact that carriers are supposed to supply Thai Immigration with a flight manifesto before departure, or certainly before arrival, this is clearly designed to identify the "bad guys'' before they set foot on Thai soil, so I'm really at a loss to understand why they are having a problem, as they know they're on the way, surely the "bad guys'' could be at the aircraft doors. 

[Jaxxper]

6 hours ago, andre47 said:

There are priority lanes processing people aged?

I never saw them. How old you have to be to use them and are they also for farang?

I believe if your 70 years old you can use the priority line. Might need to get a pass from info desk. Applies to all nationalities.

[Jumbo1968]

5 hours ago, Stocky said:

Lucky tourist numbers are down, otherwise the queues would be longer!

I think the issue is with the extra time taken to process fingerprints.

I went through the other day, whilst the IO is checking your Passport you do your fingerprints, the machine is self explanatory.

I had finished doing my fingerprints before he gave me my Passport so it’s not the fingerprinting that causes the long. It’s  the fact there are is enough manpower and desks albeit they have very busy and slack periods so it’s just a matter of managing the manpower in a better way.

[worrab]

I flew out of Swampy 8th July with BA 9 departing 16.10. So arrived 3 hours early as advised and proceeded through Security and Immigration with no real holdups at all. Just normal and processed within 20 mins.

Arrived back on 31st July with BA 10 arriving on time at 09.45. Full flight and was through Immigration including fingerprinting within 20 mins. Couple of lanes were closed but all in all very quick including the little bit of time to process the re-entry permit! Must have timed it just right!!

 

[robertson468]

Perhaps it is time they returned the Junior Female Officers to the Immigration Desks instead of them acting as Secretaries etc for the thousands of Generals!

[damascase]

25 minutes ago, fxe1200 said:

You can be a farang, and you have to be 70 years old.

See my post#62

[Stocky]

13 minutes ago, Jumbo1968 said:

I went through the other day, whilst the IO is checking your Passport you do your fingerprints, the machine is self explanatory.

I had finished doing my fingerprints before he gave me my Passport so it’s not the fingerprinting that causes the long. It’s  the fact there are is enough manpower and desks albeit they have very busy and slack periods so it’s just a matter of managing the manpower in a better way.

You're a seasoned traveller, I've stood behind someone fresh off the banana boat who had to have an 'assistant' come round and hold the correct hand on the scanner one after the other. I don't think he was the only one in the queue.

[SunsetT]

70

[prakhonchai nick]

6 hours ago, andre47 said:

There are priority lanes processing people aged?

I never saw them. How old you have to be to use them and are they also for farang?

70 and YES

[Tuvoc]

Even if you get through immigration quickly you have to wait quite a while for your checked baggage, assuming you have any. So anything faster than a 30-45 minute queue at immigration doesn't benefit most people ?

[Rampant20]

I would say the time it takes is the same as it has always been. For example 100 checking cubicles and only 40% are in use at any one time. During peak times surely open them all up and the flow will improve significantly. Finger printing isn't making it any slower and i have been through immigration lines 4 times in the last 3 months. Unused checking cubicles is the biggest problem. Its no good having 600-1000 people arriving on multiple flights to be checked by 20-30 immigration personnel. I see plenty of other Airport staff doing toss all maybe they could be better utilised.

 

[Rampant20]

Yes agreed the baggage system needs an overhaul too.

[Brunolem]

There is a system, which was implemented in other countries decades ago, but has not yet reached Thailand. 

 

It is called pre-screening. 

 

In every airport, yet maybe not in Thailand, the immigration gets the passenger lists of all the inbound flights, as soon as they depart from their origin. 

 

An automatic screening is done and the persons of interest, if any, immediately show up. 

 

If a flight has such a person of interest onboard, a few immigration officers wait for her at the plane's gate upon arrival. 

 

This has actually happened in a couple of flights I was in, upon landing in Paris CDG. 

 

All the other passengers are deemed to be of no special interest and can therefore breeze through immigration without the need of checking every page of their passport.

 

More than 30 seconds for a passenger and lines start to form... exactly the same as with traffic lights... and Thais are also champions at creating very long lines at every intersection... 

 

Immigration at Bangkok airport has to delt with 21st century passenger traffic while using 19th century procedures... but of course Thailand not same, so it is certainly not going to copy what is done in the modern world... 

[Chivas]

@ukrules

Why the laughter over immigration queues ??  I can assure you I will be in the top 1% of arrival numbers at Bangkok ever (and probably 0.1% in reality) so why do I never see these 2 hour queues etc ??

As before I have seen long queues in the snakes but they move quickly

[ubon farang]

6 hours ago, colinneil said:

Heres a thought, why not put all those lackies who are prancing around behind Sompong to work on the desks.

That would help reduce the waiting.

I agree Col you stand there one official working and the rest just walking around doing nothing. I would say it would the boss and then that persons boss and then that persons boss I have seen desks unmaned and there are people everywhere wanting to get through Oh wash my mouth out Go automatic like some big airports in the world have Problem solved then you only need 1 boss

[scorecard]

3 minutes ago, Rampant20 said:

I would say the time it takes is the same as it has always been. For example 100 checking cubicles and only 40% are in use at any one time. During peak times surely open them all up and the flow will improve significantly. Finger printing isn't making it any slower and i have been through immigration lines 4 times in the last 3 months. Unused checking cubicles is the biggest problem. Its no good having 600-1000 people arriving on multiple flights to be checked by 20-30 immigration personnel. I see plenty of other Airport staff doing toss all maybe they could be better utilised.

 

And by comparison many other airports worldwide which have even much bigger inflows can get it right, so why not swampy and DM?

[Zapitapi]

came in int. airport at 11th this month and it went fairly fast.. lines where packed up to the entrance.. but where i have been waiting 45 min last time it was 20 min this time.. 

[scorecard]

2 minutes ago, Chivas said:

@ukrules

Why the laughter over immigration queues ??  I can assure you I will be in the top 1% of arrival numbers at Bangkok ever (and probably 0.1% in reality) so why do I never see these 2 hour queues etc ??

As before I have seen long queues in the snakes but they move quickly

Are you saying the many incidents of 2 to 4 hours wait with photos and videos and kids crying and pissing on the floor and more is all fake news? 

[Rampant20]

2 minutes ago, scorecard said:

And by comparison many other airports worldwide which have even much bigger inflows can get it right, so why not swampy and DM?

They aren't in a permanent state of denial like most here in Thailands Heirarchy

[Jumbo1968]

First time with the fingerprints I just watched the people in front, you don’t read anything just follow the arrows on the machine.

 

When flying into Dubai there is a video showing all the procedures for going through the airport etc. It would help if they did the same when arriving at BKK.

 

One of the biggest issues here is the Arrival Card, loads of people have no idea, the Cabin Staff hand them out and some people look bewildered, no idea what there for and turn up at Immigration having not filled them in.

[Letseng]

6 hours ago, andre47 said:

There are priority lanes processing people aged?

I never saw them. How old you have to be to use them and are they also for farang?

These lanes are for all passengers but you need to be min. 70.

[Burma Bill]

I hope there are similar improvements, like the over 70's desk, at Don Mueang (DMK) as well!

[Andycoops]

The BiB and technology do not get along.