The Immigration Bureau (IB) has dismissed viral complaints about long queues at Suvarnabhumi International Airport, saying officers clear passengers within 30 minutes, even during peak holiday traffic.
A Japanese tourist complained on socal media about long queues at immigration arrival counters, with a sarcastic caption describing the experience as "amazing". The post sparked widespread criticism of Bangkok airport immigration services.
A handful of Japanese netizens shared similar experiences in the comments and advised travellers to allow at least two hours to clear immigration during the peak holiday period.
Immigration Division 2 yesterday said the incident occurred on Sunday, one of the busiest travel periods of the year.
Between 1-2pm, as many as 30 international flights arrived, bringing approximately 5,700 passengers on that particular day. From 10am to 5pm, inbound passenger numbers never fell below 4,000 per hour, with more than 85,000 passengers passing through Suvarnabhumi International Airport during the day.
However, images of tourist congestion circulating online were partly influenced by the terminal's physical layout, particularly the long, narrow walkways leading to the immigration halls, which can create the impression of extreme crowding, an official said.
In practice, passenger congestion occurs only at certain peak times, and Suvarnabhumi Immigration generally processes arrivals within 30 minutes, the official added.
