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Suvarnabhumi (pronounced 'Su - wanna - poom') Airport. Bangkok, Thailand
September 28, 2006: Bangkok's new US$3 billion airport, Suvarnabhumi Airport opened It can handle over 75 flights per hour & 45 million passengers per year. Tourism accounts for almost 15% of the Thai GNP & this new airport is designed to make Bangkok the leading air hub & tourist destination in Asia.
Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport is built on a drained swamp .. Cobra Swamp .. Suvarnabhumi is known by locals affectionately as Swampy-poon or Cobra Swamp Field .. everything has a nickname in Thailand. Bringing duty free tobacco or alcohol into Thailand. |
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A few months after opening in 2006 headlines announced The beautiful new terminal is sinking into Cobra Swamp.. Summer, 2008 Update: The runway problems are apparently resolved & subsidence issues addressed.
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Don Muang, the wonderful old airport, is still used for some domestic flights..
If traveling light the fastest way to Don Muang from Suvarnabhumi is to combine taxi & BTS. If you have more than 2 small bags the BTS transfers will obviously be difficult.
If you arrive on an international flight late at night & are transfering to Don Muang keep in mind that Don Muang is without any concessions until about 6 AM. |
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We recommend taxi to & from the airport. The Airport Sky Train construction is 2 years behind schedule .. perhaps early 2011.
For destinations outside Bangkok we recommend a limo .. a few 100Thb for a luxry ride to Hua Hin or Pattaya or Ayutthaya is a bargan.
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Paid WiFi is available in the airport, 30 minutes 100Thb. There are usually open free WiFi hot spots in the airport. TIP: look for areas of the terminal with several persons typing on their laptops!
Official Airports of Thailand Suvarnabhumi Map .. the airport has plenty of signs in English, but we recommend have a look anyway.
Suvarnabhumi Airport phone numbers: English speaking operators.
Main Airport Switchboard & General Flight Information: .................. 02- 535-1111
Domestic Flight Information Arrivals: .................. 02-535-1253 & 02-535-1305
Domestic Flight Information Departures: ......... 02-535-1192 & 02-535-1277
International Flight Information: Airlines using Terminal 1. (Terminal 1 is the main international terminal.)
Most International Arrivals: .................. 02-535-1149 & 02-535-1310
Most International Departures: .................. 02-535-1254 & 02=535-1123
International Flight Information: Airlines using Terminal 2 (... few airlines, last resort)
Some Arrivals: 02-535-1301
Some Departures: 02=535-1386
January, 2007. Suvarnabhumi Airport foundation problems are attributed to corruption in former PM Thaksin's ousted government ..
Suvarnabhumi Airport was claimed as one of the crowning achievements of deposed Prime Minister Thaksin.
The military-installed government that ousted Thaksin has opened several corruption investigations into the airport .. the airport has become a focal point of corruption investigations into Thaksin's administration.
The Suvarnabhumi runway cracks were reported in the Bangkok Post 2 years prior to the airport opening. A lawsuit was threatened by the PM Thaksin's cronies / contractors. The Bangkok Post published a retraction & the editor who uncovered the faulty construction was fired!
More than 100,000 sq meters (1,000,000 sq feet) of runway are affected.
The the construction was bonded by Diphaya Insurance. Repair costs are expected to be more than 1 billion Thb.
Problems reportedly are due to inferior design, poor construction technique & concrete not up to specification.
24 August 2005, Bangkok Post news editor Chadin Thepaval was forced to resign because of law suites threatened by ousted PM Thaksin .. he correctly reported cracks in the runway of Thailand's new Suvarnabhumi Airport.

4 months after opening Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport is suffering from cracked runways .. cracks large enough to pose a safety risk.
Abandon it.~ Frank Lloyd Wright (1868-1959), asked how he would improve Pittsburgh
A doctor can bury his mistakes but an architect can only advise his clients to plant vines. Frank Lloyd Wright (1868-1959)