Thailand's Suvarnabhumi Airport to Improve Security and Minimise Complaints

Posted by Mari Nicholson Sep 21, 2009

Good news for tourists to Thailand. An overhaul is underway at the main airport of Suvarnabhumi Airport where passenger complaints continue to pile up. The rash of bad publicity that the airport, and Thailand, has acquired this last year may have prompted the authorities to take another look at their flagship airport and try to answer some of the many complaints that they have received since its opening - not least complaints of passengers being falsely accused of shoplifting and then having money extorted by police interpreters. And the authorities are finally taking steps to prevent the pilfering that has been rife in the airport. An amazing 327 new security cameras are being installed in the luggage-sorting zone and baggage handlers will now sport uniforms with pockets sewn shut to prevent petty, and not so petty, pilfering.

Illegal taxi touts in the main hall of the airport are also being moved, as are unauthorised tour guides who are being charged with creating a public nuisance, and here again, security cameras are being installed in the arrival zone to collect evidence against them.

On the positive side, free wifi will be in place very soon and internet terminals will be installed for those without laptops. Another much needed improvement will be extra restrooms and cushions to cover the cold metallic seats in the departure lounges, an innovation that has won praise from prospective passengers, in letters to the Bangkok Post.

The tourism industry is desperately trying to recover from last year's bad PR disaster at the main gateway to the country, Suvarnabhumi, when anti-government protesters managed to shut the airport for a week stranding over 300,000 passengers in disgraceful conditions while the world stood by and wondered why the government did nothing to move the yellow shirted protesters from the surrounding area.

Hotels, restaurants and retail businesses are suffering badly at the moment. It behoves the government to pull out all the stops to make the main airport a more welcoming gateway for incoming visitors, and to ensure their safety and enjoyment in what should be one of the world's most popular airports. Instead, it is ranked 28th in the Airport Council International annual list based on passenger surveys of 120 airports. The top 3 spots are held by Singapore, Seoul and Hong Kong.