December 17th, 2007, 00:12
Folks, a warning if you are taking one of the several Thai Airways flights that leave Suvannaphumi around midnight for various destinations across the globe. Head for your gate about two hours before your flight is due to go. On Saturday I was on a midnight flight to Sydney leaving from C wing - as were by my rough count six other 747's: for Paris, Madrid, Melbourne, Frankfurt, Tokyo and Seoul, I think. That's about two and a half thousand people. There were three security checkpoints for the lot to pass through. If you allow fifteen seconds for every person to be processed you will get some idea of the logistics. The approach to the security points is severely constrained by the narrowness of the hall and what must have been upwards of a thousand people were jammed into two queues stretching further than I could see. As departure times came and went, many passengers, not understanding that the plane would not in the circumstances leave without them if their bags were on board, started to panic and barge to the fore with ugly possibilities evolving. It was the worst shit fight that I have ever seen at an airport. Most of us in it were simply incredulous. Our flight got off an hour and ten minutes behind schedule. I can't see how the problem can be solved if Thai have these flights going at the same time from the one wing and three security checkpoints only to deal with the passengers. I would be wanting an assurance from Thai that it had been solved before I would risk the experience again by taking one of their flights. I would regret having to sever my connection with that airline as it goes back to when their planes were wearing SAS livery.