Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport

I have often transited through this airport but never actually left the airport until this visit. For a modern airport it is a shambles - it is hard to work out where you are going in particular from the domestic to the international terminals. Additionally I do not know why an airport with so many air bridges you still have to be bussed to your plane - surely they would have thought of this when building the place. Immigration looked like a nightmare but lucky we had fast tracks and did not have to put up with the huge lines for non- Thai citizens. Overall a fabulous looking building but not user friendly.

The airport is impressive but I would rather spend less than 35 minutes queuing at immigration and have less luxury shops. The airport express link to the city is excellent I miss old Don Muang's more traditional aspect !

Generally not bad but only 5 out of 16 passport control desks for foreign passport holders were opened when I went through resulting in a wait time of just over a half hour.

Something needs to be done at the Arrival Hall. Very chaotic and packed. The area is still very confusing and closed-off as usual. Touts are not in the arrival hall but are instead in the baggage claim area! I was asked whether or not I will get a taxi there two times! Departure: maze-like queuing system is much needed to prevent people from jumping back and forth between lines. Signage - the new black signs are much clearer. Decoration - adding more stuff in doesn't make the airport more appealing! The authority seriously needs someone with sense of style to come and decorate the airport.

I transit BKK twice a month on average and on my latest outbound journey which was mid- afternoon I was horrified to see that the lines at immigration were as long as at other times of the day. The signs promoting the 20 minute wait system have been taken down. This was despite making some of the Thai passport lanes for Thai/foreign passport holders. Usual agitated people trying to queue jump with those in front standing firm and rightly so. Thai immigration needs to hire more staff. This has been a thorny issue for years and it was never that bad at Don Muang. The return journey was the best yet thanks to the plane parking near the immigration area on the D concourse and got lucky as a new officer came on duty and as everyone rushed to his desk it left my line virtually void of people.

Been though BKK most months this year. Passenger numbers are on the rise again and pressuring the system. Choke points now are in Immigration with lengthy queues at most times of the day. I wouldn't arrive at the airport an hour before Departure Time - you may not make it. (1/2 hour minimum getting through Immigration). They've done a reasonable job of slicking up the Security areas after Immigration and that seems to be working well. Arrivals is fine with a lower taxi tout concentration than last year. Haven't tried the Rail Link yet. Some way to go before BKK hits the standards of HKG SIN or ICN but it's getting better.

Walking to gates especially from connecting flights or reboarding a flight can be annoying but its otherwise a good airport. Passport staff quite friendly. When arriving at night it can appear a bit unprofessional many staff everywhere and many just sitting around reading filing their nails etc. Can be hard to move freely about the airport. If you venture downstairs to where the taxis are and leave your bags with your family in the arrivals area it can be hard to get back upstairs as security make it hard for you to go back upstairs and don't understand english for you to explain. Two security checks for Australian flights and staff seem good at their job. Food expensive and also souvenirs and everything else especially duty free more expensive than in a western airport - shops were mostly empty. Lots of restaurants and cafes in the departures area lots of places to sit. Free 15 minutes of internet with wifi after signing at information desk.

In general the airport is a pleasant experience but the walking distances can be astonishingly long. Especially for connections there can be a 15-20 minute hike involved if the gates are far apart. It is a pleasant environment and the signage is better than in many airports--a good thing as you would not want to retrace your steps.

I have used Suvarnabhumi since it opened. It has improved greatly particularly the last 6 months. New trolleys. Color signage instead of only white. Refitted seats. More toilets. Airport Rail Link. The single security check after immigration was implemented to comply with new US regulations stating all airports with US bound flights originating in them must have single security check system rather than the BKK previous security check system which was divided the screenings into about 6 different areas just before each wings section (the original Thai system was better as it split up the crowd across the airport instead of into the small area near immigration as now required by US law). So people shouldn't blame the Thai people for the crowds at the security check area. People who complain about the overpriced food should list those airports with cheaper food and the list would be very short indeed. Suvarnabhummi is getting better all the time and hopefully when Terminal 2 is built they will improve on certain design faults.

How is it possible for a new airport to have so many non-airbridge parking bays? I reckon BKK has at least 40. Arriving back from PVG on a new TG A340-600 aircraft around 21:30 on Sunday evening I counted at least 15 unoccupied airbridge gates on the east side of the airport (and more on what little I could see of the west side). Yet we had to park way out on the tarmac. No dedicated first and business class buses. We were trundled half way around the airport packed into smoky smelly buses before then having to wait whilst 4 other buses unloaded their passengers at a single entry door. With this sort of experience Suvarnabhumi will never be more than a second class airport.