Airport eyes faster check-ins
The operators of Don Mueang airport are planning to significantly reduce the time it takes to process passengers.
Under a new fast-track service, people on domestic flights will take just one hour to get from the airport entrance to their aircraft, airport director Chaturongkapon Sodmanee said. For international passengers, the processing time will be no more than two hours, he said. The new system will be introduced in October, he said.
If passengers spend less time going through passport and baggage checks, "they will have more time to spend money in airport shops", Mr Chaturongkapon said. As part of the changes, the airport will establish a special help team that will provide a range of services to customers - from giving advice to helping them carry baggage and guiding them to the right gate.
"We'll choose help staff who can speak Chinese, because there are currently many Chinese travellers," he said. At least 15 members of the "Airport Help" team will work on two shifts, running from 4am to 9pm each day, he said.
Airline employees at check-ins and immigration police have also been asked to design work plans to speed up their processing times, he said.
The airport is also planning to demolish a car park building near its VIP rooms to build a new passenger lounge.
This will be able to accommodate between 400 and 500 passengers and will be used in the event of Airbus 380 flights being redirected to Don Mueang from Suvarnabhumi airport, Mr Chaturongkapon said.
The planned upgrades to services are key to the airport's plan to handle more passengers, he said.
An estimated 19 million people are expected to use Don Mueang next year, up from 14 million this year.
The increased traffic will result in Terminal 1 operating at full capacity, so the airport needs to upgrade Terminal 2 to cope with higher traffic volume in 2015, Mr Chaturongkapon said.
~News courtesy of Bangkok Post~
