Airport queues will drive tourists away

Refurbishment is causing severe delays at passport control. On arrival, passengers are having to spend up to three hours queuing, and on departure up to two hours. The queues snake around large areas of the airport and are unmanaged, so that unruly passengers barge in and more patient ones (as well as passport officers) get irate. Tempers are lost, there is high anxiety about missing one’s flight, and there is even a risk of injury. 

These delays are ruining all the other efforts by Thailand to welcome visitors. Surely better management of the problem is possible? For example, Heathrow Airport in London has a system of “sheep pens” that enable passengers to queue safely and fairly and be dealt with quickly. And there must be ways of opening more passport booths. The present chaos at Suvarnabhumi, however temporary, is an unacceptable blight on Thailand’s tourism industry.

Paul Williams

Trowbridge, UK