Taxi scams, slow procedures of passengers, overpricing at shops due to concession monopoly, an experience at Suvarnabhumi airport can be far of what many polls describe as Southeast Asia’s best airport. Does Airports of Thailand (AOT) work hard enough to improve things?
BANGKOK- Let’s face it. Passing through Bangkok Suvarnabhumi International Airport can be anything than a good experience. Call it bad luck but coming back recently from Hong Kong, I got a bitter taste of what other foreign travellers could also experience. Arriving around noon on a Saturday, I had to queue for 50 minutes to get through the immigration. It was lunch break and only three counters over ten were occupied by an immigration officer. The others were obviously having their lunch break. “In Hong Kong, authorities would definitely ask officers to come back to work if they would see such a long queue”, explained me a young woman from Hong Kong, who patiently waited like hundreds of other passengers…
Asking Airports of Thailand why such a time is needed – I must say this is not the first time it happened to me but waiting never exceeded until my last time 30 minutes- Mrs Thitiporn Setaluk, spokesperson for Suvarnabhumi Airport, highlighted that the airport authority has been overwhelmed by the rapid expansion in passengers’ number. “Suvarnabhumi Airport and the Immigration Bureau work closely to solve the problems of long queues at passport control. As it is a part of airport experience for any international traveller, therefore, we pay great importance to make a passenger’s experience at the airport as trouble free and smoothly as possible. Unfortunately, due to the rapid increases in passenger traffic Suvarnabhumi Airport has experienced of late, the total number of passenger had risen faster than what we had forecasted and anticipated”, she tells.
According to Mrs. Setaluk, the number of officers was effectively increased in October 2012 with 80 officers being on duty on average for a total of 202 counters. Which in fact gives a ratio of one officer for almost four counters, certainly an insufficient number. Only the office of immigration is under Thai law empowered to perform passport checking procedures. “We acknowledge the manpower problems causing delays in the passport checking process and are working closely to find solutions to provide better service as soon as possible. Regular spot-checks are performed by AOT officials to monitor the situations at all the arrival and departure passport control areas. Last week’s figures show an average time taken (for queuing and processing) of 8 minutes per person for international arrival passengers while the longest time recorded was 31 minutes per person,” she adds.
Then came the taxi problem. Taking an official one, the meter was tampered, showing 52 km instead of the usual 24 km to my home. With of course an additional 4 dollars to pay to the driver… This kind of scam occurs regularly and AOT has for many years tried to monitor the situation. The fact to collect a service fee and the issuance of an official receipt do not however guarantee that the taxi will behave properly.
“Taxis are monitored as they must be registered with AOT staff. All official taxis are under the jurisdiction of the Department of Land Transport, which ensure that each taxi passes the specified standard in order for the drivers to gain and maintain a validity of public transport driver’s license. Various numbers are provided to passengers to log on a complaint in case of problems. Public taxi services at Suvarnabhumi Airport are closely monitored, whereby all complaints are taken very seriously and investigated accordingly”, tells Thitiporn Setaluk. Investigation of complaints can lead to suspension from service at Suvarnabhumi Airport.
AOT and concerned government agencies should act swiftly as this kind of unfortunate experience –it does not happen all the time of course- puts a serious question mark on the quality of service for the destination Thailand. And it could in a way ruin the excellent reputation that the kingdom has forged over the decade about its impeccable sense of service. Quicker and stricter actions should then have priority over any other consideration…
Luc Citrinot a French national is a freelance journalist and consultant in tourism and air transport with over 20 years experience. Based in Paris and Bangkok, he works for various travel and air transport trade publications in Europe and Asia.
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