Bangkok Airport

All commercial Bangkok airlines now land at the new Bangkok airport, since its relocation from Don Muang airport in 2006.

The new Bangkok International Airport is called Suvarnabhumi Airport (pronounced Soo-wanna-poom Airport).

It received its name from His Majesty the King and means the "Golden Land". The foundation stone was laid in January 2002 and the new airport was opened for service on 28th September 2006.

Suvarnabhumi Airport is located about 25 Km from the centre of Bangkok and is only a 40 minute car ride to get to one of the many Bangkok city hotels. It may take as long as 60 minutes if you travel during rush hour periods or you have a Riverside hotel.

Either way, once in the main building have your back pack firmly in place and passport in hand, you should head directly to the immigration hall to go through passport control.

If you are changing planes and have a few hours to spare then you can explore more things to do on your short Bangkok layover or if you have a delayed connecting flight you may like to read about the attractions available to you inside the airport building, whilst you while away the next few hours. Depending upon which gate your plane docks at, you may have a long walk or a very long walk to the immigration area. Fortunately Bangkok airport is fitted with moving walkways that make this a journey a little less tedious.

Very often, if one section has long queues then it is worth wandering further down a little futher as the other sections can have no people waiting. (Since June 2010 they have installed TV monitors at the entrance to each immigration hall so that now you can see the length of the queues before you go in.)

I have visited Bangkok airport many times and the majority of times I have waited in a line of four or less people and if I see a line longer than that they head to the next immigration hall. Most times the immigration staff are just sitting waiting for me and I have to admit it is a little disappointing when they are not.

If you travel First or Business Class or have an APEC card then you are entitled to use the Fast Track booth. This is usually located to the right hand side of each arrival hall near where the diplomats go. Or there is another gate used by crew as marked on the map below.

At the other side of the immigration staff are 24 baggage carousels, with number 24 being on the left. So after emerging from passport control, go and check the board with your flight number to find the correct baggage carousel and head off to await your luggage.

One common question is "should I prebook my airport transfer", I would say that it is not necessary as there are plenty of cars at the airport and this is something you can do when you arrive.

You can read more about Bangkok Airport to Bangkok transfers as there are a number of options available to get from Bangkok Airport to Bangkok.

Along the back wall are various booths for AOT Limousines where you can pre-purchase your limousine transfer, whilst waiting for your luggage to arrive.

Tell them your destination hotel and select a car from the photograph. Depending upon your budget. 1100-1400 Baht will get you to most hotels in Bangkok in a well maintained and clean vehicle. Put the receipt away in your wallet and keep the duplicate in your hand until after you have passed through Customs Control.

Collect your bags and pass through Customs, choose either the Red or Green channel. (If your bag does not appear on the luggage carousel then read the following account of how to handle lost baggage). Immediately after passing through Customs Control and entering the airport arrival hall you will see another AOT Limousine booth, give the duplicate copy to a staff member and they will whisk you outside to one of the waiting cars.

If you have booked a hotel car to collect you then they also wait in this general area with your name on a sign board. You may find that it is written as 'Mr John, Mr Alex or Ms Sarah', as people are referred to by their first names in Thailand.

As you walk to the exit there are other places that you can book cars, mobile phone rental etc. I have never used any of these so can't comment on what is available.
If you are from Australia or Europe where the phone system is the same you may never need to rent a mobile phone when you can purchase a local SIM card that you can top up at any 7-Eleven store.

If your phone is locked to your carrier you can even pick up a secondhand mobile phone from MBK or Panthip Plaza for less than 1000 Baht.

But if you are from a region such as the USA or Japan where the phone system is different, then you may need to rent yourself a mobile phone.

No matter what country you come from you need to be aware that even though your home country mobile phone works, you will have to pay very high "roaming" charges from your service provider.

Be especially aware of devices such as tablet PC's and smartphones that can automatically connect to the internet for example.

Anyway I hope you find this brief overview of arrival at Bangkok airport helpful.

If you are coming to Bangkok on vacation or for a short layover then you may be interested in browsing a list of hotels in the various Bangkok districts or perhaps even staying closer to Bangkok airport at a Bangkok Airport Hotel.