[Fork Handles]

Well, at least they admit its a problem....

BANGKOK/SUVARNABHUMI: -- The overloaded Immigration Bureau is seeking police outside its organisation to help with passport checks at Suvarnabhumi airport.

It is also asking passengers to arrive well ahead of their boarding times to ensure they will not miss their flights.

Pol Maj Gen Natthorn Phrosunthorn, chief of Immigration Division 2 which supervises five international airports in the country, said some passengers at Suvarnabhumi airport have missed flights because there are not enough immigration officers to check passports before flights depart.

The number of passengers passing through the airport every day has risen while the number of immigration officers has dropped as some have been promoted or sought transfers to other organisations to avoid the heavy work load.

"On Feb 11, the problem was particularly serious because as many as 387 non-commissioned immigration officers took leave for a commissioned officer examination.

"That caused very long queues at the airport," Pol Maj Gen Natthorn said.

About 150 officers from elsewhere in the Immigration Bureau were deployed to the airport, but they weren't able to help much as they were inexperienced.

Pol Maj Gen Natthorn said another problem was that Airports of Thailand Plc was modifying areas in the passenger terminal to improve security, which had halved the number of immigration booths.

He plans to deploy 70 female riot police officers to assist on the desks tomorrow and later recruit more immigration officers to help meet demand.

He hopes the congestion will be relieved further next month when an automatic passport check system is installed. "We are very tired...many immigration officers want to leave the organisation because they cannot rest and are in very risky situations. If they rush and let through fake passports or wanted criminals they can be jailed," he said. The Immigration Bureau has 1,312 positions for officers at Suvarnabhumi airport but there are only 1,045 officers. Newly recruited officers are still being trained.

Pol Maj Gen Natthorn asked passengers to arrive at the airport earlier so long queues will not cause them to miss flights.

Suvarnabhumi airport director Somchai Sawasdipol said fast-track immigration booths for first-class and business-class passengers would be removed so staff there could help handle regular passengers during peak hours.

[ferocious]

I think 2 of my last 3 flights into the kingdom the queue has been that long at immigration my bags have been taken off the carousel to make way for another flight !! It's defiantly worse than it used to be

[gonzo]

Originally Posted by Fork Handles

He hopes the congestion will be relieved further next month when an automatic passport check system is installed.

I think I read that new automatic system would only recognise Thai passports, which, considering how many Thais you tend to see queueing isn't really going to do too much.

[woodman2]

Got to admit the getting out has been a nightmare the last 2 times I have been through. What has changed?

There appears to have been the usual amount of manned booths same as there has always been. My flight leaves at 02:30 and there aren`t that many extra flights around that time suddenly departing.

The official doesn`t seem to check owt more than he did before. A quick look at my arrival stamp to check I haven`t overstayed and a quick swipe to see I haven`t done one on my hotel room bill and I`m out of there.

It`s the pissed up Russians and confussed Sri Lankans that cause the chaos. Neither group know what to queue is.

[Dunghie]

So is this VIP pass the answer?

[gonzo]

Originally Posted by Dunghie

So is this VIP pass the answer?

My last couple of flights included a priority pass, certainly made the whole thing a lot easier, I had a queue of 1 person in front of me I think on entering the country and an empty queue when leaving.

[techno kev]

Originally Posted by gonzo

My last couple of flights included a priority pass, certainly made the whole thing a lot easier, I had a queue of 1 person in front of me I think on entering the country and an empty queue when leaving.

is that for business class flights only or can you pay extra for a pass with an economy flight ???

[roamer]

Originally Posted by techno kev

is that for business class flights only or can you pay extra for a pass with an economy flight ???

Hi

You can book fast track separately from your flight ticket, might be an idea to check whether the service is affected by this :

"Suvarnabhumi airport director Somchai Sawasdipol said fast-track immigration booths for first-class and business-class passengers would be removed so staff there could help handle regular passengers during peak hours."

1200 baht.


http://www.thaifasttrack.com/index.p..._10_Fast-Track

[gonzo]

There is another option which a mate of mine used but it was through a hotel and I don't know if you could get it from anywhere else. He booked the 'express airport pick-up' through the President Solitaire and they met him at the door of the plane and took him through the diplomatic channel and straight out.

Last time I went to LOS I was with my mate who was in a wheelchair and we got sent through the diplomatic channel, no queue but still had to wait for the bags the other side