Thai influencer complains about chaos at Suvarnabhumi airport with arriving foreign tourists
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Well-known Thai influencer Aticharn, alias “Au Spin9”, laments the chaos he saw at Suvarnabhumi Airport when foreign tourists arriving under the Test & Go program stood lost and helpless looking around.
According to him, there were no signs to guide tourists. Most of them were just looking completely lost because they couldn't find the hotel they had booked as part of the Test & Go program. Aticharn added that he heard hotel staff yelling the names of their hotels, but tourists couldn't hear them because of the noise. By the time the tourists found a hotel counter, they had to queue for a long time because for many hotels there was only one person to handle the bookings.
“This is how passengers under the Test & Go scheme are treated at Suvarnabhumi Airport. No one could go anywhere, they just stood in long queues waiting. Hotel staff shouted the names of their hotels until they lost their voices and shook their heads in desperation. Some passengers complained, but hotel staff told them to complain to the airport,” Aticarn wrote.
“It became a kind of game to discover the logo of the hotel. There is no staff accompanying passengers. A desk clerk for so many hotels resulting in very long queues”.
Aticharn says the airport mess is likely just the first hurdle for tourists, adding that he strongly doubts people will want to return after an experience like this.
Source: The Nation
Big nonsense I'm here for the second time now, it works perfectly I was through everything within 15 minutes, 30 later in the taxi
I think his last sentence, I quote: “that he has strong doubts whether people will want to return after an experience like this” is very correct. After all the problems with constantly changing conditions, people apparently do not want to understand that clear communication and a smooth working handling are priorities to get tourism going again. However, situations like this do not encourage this, on the contrary.
I don't agree with this criticism at all. I arrived last Sunday on a KLM/Air France flight. Everything was well arranged. You were received nicely, your Thailand pass was checked as well as your TM6 form and you were neatly referred to passport control. Then out through the luggage claim. Also received nicely there and escorted to my taxi within 10 minutes. This is the third time that I have flown back to Thailand during Corona time. The first two times it was more complicated, but also well organised. So nothing but praise for the Thai government on this point
What a mess this story is
We went to Thailand with our family in December and just now for the Easter holiday.
It's ALL amazingly well organized.
When you finally have your bags and have passed through customs, you will come to a number of counters and people will catch you. You name your hotel and they find the contact person for you who will arrange transport to the hotel. We had 2x a different hotel and everything ran smoothly!
Our passports have never been checked so often.
So don't be afraid because of this article
Absolute nonsense, I have never arrived so quickly (just over an hour after landing) in my hotel in Sumkhuvit
I arrived at BKK with Saudia on April 6 and was through everything within 30 minutes
Now I got out at around 20.50 pm due to a delay and Saudia was the only flight at that time. I chose exit C because I still wanted to buy a SIM card, but otherwise I would have exited through B. Outside C there were all those stalls with many hotel names per stall. I couldn't find mine right away but someone from a hotel was soon there to help. No idea if there are also stalls outside at B. Can imagine some chaos with several flights at the same time. However, it is always better organized than at Schiphol, but that does not seem very difficult to me.
What I don't quite understand is that some people here claim to simply get into a taxi after collecting their luggage, while the test and go program is still running?
In other words. your hotel must arrange for transfer and pcr test in hospital and further to your room until the result is known.
Can someone explain more about this, since I also have a flight booked within five weeks.
Thanks in advance,
Ron
If this comes into effect, it will not be a problem within 5 weeks
https://www.thailandblog.nl/nieuws-uit-thailand/vanaf-1-mei-versoepeling-inreisregels-thailand-alleen-nog-antigeentest-sneltest-bij-aankomst/
When I arrived in Bangkok at the end of December, everything was very well organised; there were chairs ready at the airport and you had to take a seat there and the airport staff came to check your papers; fifteen minutes later in a taxi from the hotel; no chaos at all
How hard can it be to step up with a sign with the hotel name on it? I am always picked up at the meeting point by someone with a sign with my name on it.
Landed at Bangkok airport on April 8. Everything went smoothly. There was only 1 main exit in the airport. There it is indeed a bit chaotic to find your right hotel. No people shouting and actually I was quickly taken to the right desk of the hotel. Could be a bit better indeed. All in all, taken with a van to a test & go place to finally stay in quarantine for 1 night with a negative PCR test. Did my go-karts yesterday in the hotel room and also negative.
See also:
https://www.bangkokpost.com/learning/easy/2294102/suvarnabhumi-adds-more-hotel-counters-after-reports-of-chaos
Ever wonder how smoothly things will go from 1 May with that test at the airport and where people then have to wait 30 minutes for the result.
We arrived early in the morning of April 8 (around 5 am) and then things went fairly smoothly, although the 'signage' of the hotels was indeed somewhat vague. I can imagine that during rush hour the chaos increases. Apparently, the (airport) government has now taken additional measures for those situations: hotel signs in alphabetical order, extra 'counters', extra exit to the taxis (including the means of transport used by the hotels to transport their guests to be tested). So after the long masked journey we got through the various checkpoints fairly quickly, faster than before in our hotel, but that was mainly due to the small number of tourists (at that time of day) ... so that there were literally no waiting times at the pass control ...
Unfortunately I fly BKK-KUL-BKK every month since December. The arrival in BKK runs smoothly, as long as only 1 flight lands. As soon as 2 or more arrive, things go wrong.
Finding the hotel representative is chaotic, but slowly getting better.
Too bad there will only be action if this is reported by a Thai celebrity. (this has been going on for 4 months)
Everything was well organized very well helped still smoke a cigarette and then taxi in PCR test in hospital without having to get out of the taxi and then to the hotel 4 hours later result PCR test.and free to go just great
Friends of mine came over and with this experience they had they don't come to Thailand again under these circumstances. One of them had tested positive and had to be quarantined. He had to advance everything himself, but AXA, where he had taken out insurance, did not pay out. Fortunately, he received a portion back from his own health insurance.
One opinion is not an opinion and certainly those of vloggers should be taken with more than the usual grain of salt. Those people only get their blogs viewed because of sensation and fuss, right? But all those who reported above that they did have a smooth experience, each for themselves, at that one moment they were there, only received a snapshot of the situation, from which it is difficult to draw an overall conclusion. With the necessary caution, we may be able to conclude that, on average, the situation is well under control, but there is room for improvement at a few peak moments.
I arrived April 4 and found that it was arranged very smoothly. Checking papers went a lot smoother than in July last year. After picking up the luggage, there were about 7 counters with hotel names on them. One question and I was referred to the right desk. After 5 minutes I was in the taxi to the hotel where I had to stay for 24 hours.
Now, if there's anything I don't pay attention to, it's the things brought up by the so-called “INFLUENCERS”. Their name says it all: “INFLUENCERS. So their purpose is to influence a case in some way, for the better or for the worse, according to who the stakeholders are. So always take them with a handful of salt.
I think there is indeed some truth in it, although I wouldn't necessarily call it THE truth.
I myself will come on Saturday. to (with an Emirates A380, 500 pax) around 19pm, at the same time as a Qatar A330 and a Singapore Airlines A350 A350. Then you are quickly talking about 1000 to 1200 passengers in a short time. All those people, Thai and non-Thai, have to go through all the checks. Since the passengers all end up at doors 9 and 10, it is possible that there will be crowds. In that sense, what the influencer writes is true. And with about 10.000 passengers per day (with few or no arrivals at night), busy moments arise. But there will also be times when it is less busy. That is also true.