Victory over potty delays

[gerefan]

Regettably, a good reason to avoid flying on the A380.

[fountainhall]

Regettably, a good reason to avoid flying on the A380.

I really don't believe you can blame it on the A380. It's not like airport authorities worldwide did not have years of notice that this aircraft would be flying into their facilities. And one full 777 arriving a minute or so before or after a 737 results in even more passengers. BKK is just way behind most others (anyone surprised?) in providing a sufficient number of gates for A380s (several times my flight has had to wait 30 minutes or more on the tarmac for a delayed departure aircraft occupying the designated A380 gate to be pushed back) and then sufficient immigration staff. If an airport approves flight plans which have three A380s and a couple of 777s arriving in the space of just 30 minutes, along with a variety of smaller aircraft - as was the case about a year ago during the lunch hour rush - the effect on immigration queues should have been painfully obvious.

The real problem surely is that immigration procedures at BKK take a great deal longer than at many similar airports. Taipei requires finger scans in addition to photos and checking of passports and entry cards. Yet passengers pass through the desks in less than half the time it takes at BKK. Hong Kong, Singapore - even KL - are also significantly faster.

Mind you, Heathrow Terminal 5 in the early morning and other rush hours is murder even for UK citizens with biometric passports.