The new Bangkok Airport, Suvarnabhumi Airport
The new Bangkok Airport, Opened! (Really?)
Update: As expected things did not go so smooth as originally planned, runway cracks are showing up, roofs are leaking and there are not enough toilets, let alone space in the arrival area. It has become clear that the new airport suffers from years of corruption and dubious contracting. The government just decided that the old airport Don Muang will be reopened for some flights (mostly domestic) until problems at Suvarnabhumi are resolved.
Video of the new airport, click here!
The new Bangkok airport, Suvarnabhumi, is now officially open. Everything went well on the first day except for some computer failures resulting in delays with check in and baggage collection for which a Thai Airways executive already has been sacked.
Not everything is completed however, some restaurants and lounges are still under construction but should be finished within the next couple of months. The railway link directly into the city is still under construction and will most likely not be completed until 2008.
If you have any questions regarding the new airport please post them on our Forum and we will try to answer them as soon as possible.
How to get to Suvarnabhumi Airport:
Taxi drivers should all know how to get to the new airport, just make sure you pronounce it right: Suan-na-phuum. Also tell him to take the toll way as this is much quicker then going on the normal roads, "Pai Highway" should do the trick.
- From the north: Via the Bangkok-Chonburi Motorway connecting directly to the terminal.
- From the northwest: Via Rom Khlao Road and King Kaew flyover.
- From the northeast: Via On Nut Road.
- From the West: Via King Kaew Road.
- From the south: Via Bangna-Trat Highway and Buraphavithi expressway.
The different floors at the new airport:
Level 1 – ground floor
Waiting area for passengers who who just arrived and arranged a tour or are waiting for their transfer.
Level 2 – first floor
Main arrival hall. Taxi's are not allowed anymore for arriving passengers, there is a free shuttle bus taking you to the new transportation center, from where you can take public transportation or taxis.
Level 3 – second floor
Offices, restaurants, shopping and other facilities
Level 4 – third floor
The departure hall with 10 entrance doors that are marked with check in counters for the respective airlines.
New Suvarnabhumi airport pictures (July 2006):
Here we see the front of the departure terminal, while in September last year the roads in front of this terminal where not finished, everything looks completed now.
Signboards are up and running although letters for the proper check in desk are still missing.
In order to make sure everything runs smoothly once the airport officially opens students and even the army are practicing the check in procedures. Backpacks are tested on this side while complete suitcases are checked in on the other side.
New state of the art signboards have been put in place showing departure and arrival flights. Everything seems to be working fine except for the fact that there are no real flights yet. Due to the glass front end of the displays they are rather hard to read on a bright day however.
The new check in desk are ready with flat screens in the background offering flight and check in information. With a huge number of these desks the airport is at its current capacity able to handle 50 million passengers a year. An extension of runways could push the maximum capacity up to 100 million!
The traffic control tower seems to have changed the least, it is supposed to be the largest air traffic control tower in the world.
The information below dates back to September 2005:
If you've been living in Bangkok you can't have missed that a new airport is being build for the city. As Don Muang international airport reaches its maximum capacity the race is on to finish the new Suvarnabhumi international airport. The opening has been delayed already for several times and now it should open this year, but will it? After a visit it is clear that they surely not going to open this year but also that this is going to be a great airport.
You read about cracks and holes in the runway? They are just partially true. First of all there were never any holes in the runway. The only thing that occurred was when they were building next to one of the runways a crack appeared because of ground vibrations. No big deal and the problems the media reported were highly overrated.
As you see in the picture above the airport has been designed with a central terminal and the two runways with the gates on the sides. The terminal is huge with a surface covering around 7 football fields. The airport is currently designed to handle 45 million passengers a year. However if there would be a need for more capacity a second terminal can be build and up to a maximum of 5 runways. This would increase their capacity to a massive 100 million people. Furthermore the new airport has three gates capable of receiving the new Airbus A380 as well as larger baggage claim systems to handle the increased amount of luggage. The main mode of transportation to get to the airport will be by road with connections from the Rama 9 express way. A new train station is being build underneath the airport, this will not be finished before the end of 2007. The airport aims to become the main airport hub in South East Asia and if this airport is finished it might just be in a good position to become this.
As you can see in this picture the gates have been finished but the roads and ground around it are still in development with the most delay in the building of the connecting roads to the express way.
Here you see the arrival hall with a massive 40 belts! Including some belts especially designed for the Airbus A380. The gates for passport control are already in place, the only thing missing now are the passengers.
The new Bangkok international airport has the highest air traffic control tower in the world, probably a prestige project but it sure is a nice tower.
This is the situation below the roads in front of the terminals, the road itself is still missing some parts so you cannot reach the airport by it. I'm not an expert on road constructions so I don't know how long that's going to take but I guess it might take a while to finish it.
Yep the immigration part looks ok, just get the things out of the plastic and plug them in.
A beautiful arrival hall, the escalators are installed already but they probably have to take them out again for cleaning. No screens or IT systems installed.
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New Airport 
