New Phuket Airport Terminal Puzzles Passengers

21st Sep 2016

Many would-be travelers are puzzled because of the newly-opened International Terminal at Phuket Airport and are not sure from which terminal (the new one or the old one) they should depart, said a senior official from Airport of Thailand.

The official, who asked not to be named, said:

Since the opening of the new International Terminal, many passengers are not sure where to check-in and most drivers just drop off passengers at the old terminal. We have even seen some passengers drag their luggage from terminal to the other.

He went on to explain that the new terminal is dedicated to international flights, as its name suggests, while the old terminal will now be used exclusively for domestic services.

He added:

We are putting up signs to help direct passengers to where they need to be and we now have staff on the concourse to advise them. We want the public to know that the old passenger building is for domestic flights only and that the new terminal is for international flights.

The airport official concluded:

 It is quite normal for any new facility to have a rough start. We apologise for any inconvenience, but we assure you that it will get better once everything is in place.

However, it isn’t just this uncertainty causing all the confusion and long queues at the airport. According to an immigration officer at the Phuket Airport, long lines forming at outbound immigration desks are also becoming commonplace.

This officer, who also asked to remain anonymous, said:

Most of the delay here is not because our system is slow,” he said. “The process has to be thorough. A photograph of each passenger must be taken and our officers must record the correct information of each passenger passing through.

According to him, there are not enough immigration officers and many of their stations are not equipped with computer terminals, which both cause delays at the line.

The officer said:

We have only 13 computers that are working with 13 to 14 officers on rotation at the counters. Some stations still have no computers set up yet. In three months, we hope to get new computers for these stations and extra officers will help out by next week.

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