About Suvarnabhumi Airport
Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) is the main international airport serving Bangkok. It is located in Samut Prakan Province, about 25 km to the east of downtown Bangkok. It began full domestic and international flights on 28 September 2006.
The name Suvarnabhumi was chosen by King Bhumibol Adulyadej. It refers to the golden kingdom that appears in some ancient manuscripts. Suvarnabhumi has the third largest airport terminal in the world after Beijing's Terminal Three and Hong Kong's Chek Lap Kok. At 132.2 meters, Suvarnabhumi's control tower is the tallest in the world.
Suvarnabhumi Airport covers 8000 acres of land which was purchased as early as 1973. On and off political upheavals have delayed the project to build a replacement airport for the overcrowded Don Muang International Airport. As the area is marshland, the soil requires stabilization. Land reclamation took place from 1997 to 2001, and actual construction only began in January 2002 under the government of Thaksin Shinawatra. The total cost of the airport came to 155 billion baht (app. US$3.8 billion).
Initially, the airport was projected to open in late 2005. On 29 September 2005, the first symbolic test flights by Thai Airways was conducted at Suvarnabhumi, but a series of delays pushed the opening date to a year later.
Suvarnabhumi Airport has two runways. Each is 60 meters wide, one is 4km long while the other is 3.7km long. Paralel to the runways are two taxiways, allowing for simultaneous departures and arrivals. Suvarnabhumi has 120 parking bays, of which 51 are direct contact gates while the remainder are remote gates. There are also 5 parking bays specially designed to accommodate the Airbus A380. The airport, as it is, is capable of handling 76 flight operations per hour. Both international and domestic flights share the same terminal, but assigned to different parts of the building. The airport can handle 45 million passengers and 3 million tons of cargo a year. Linked to the airport is a five-storey car park with a capacity for 5000 vehicles.
Arriving at Suvarnabhumi
For passengers arriving at Suvarnabhumi Airport, the following are the two main transport options, assuming you don't have anybody to fetch you.
Meter Taxis
Exit the terminal building on the 2nd floor. Look for the taxi stand and then join the queue of passengers waiting to board the taxi. There are usually a continuous stream of taxis, so you usually do not have to wait very long for your turn. If you are traveling to Bangkok, you need to pay the metered taxi fare, plus a 50 baht surcharge and any expressway tolls. The total usually comes to about 300 baht - I've paid anywhere between 240 baht to 360 baht, and I can't explain why. If you are traveling to a destination other than Bangkok, ask the taxi driver for the charter rates.
Beware of taxi touts who try to entice you to their taxi. Simply ignore them and head for the taxi stand. Disregarding this advise may cost you a ride that is twice the usual price. Now I ignore their calls of "Very cheap, only 500 baht!" Only those who do not know the price of a journey to Bangkok falls for their trick.
There are also Limousine Taxis, which charge about 800 baht for the same journey taken by the meter taxi. Should I waste your time reading about them? I think not.
Airport Express Buses
Airport Express Buses charge a flat rate of 150 baht per person and operate from 7:00am until midnight. There are four routes, and each take about 60-90 minutes. The routes are:
AE1: Suvarnabhumi-Silom
AE2: Suvarnabhumi-Khao San Road
AE3: Suvarnabhumi-Sukhumvit
AE4: Suvarnabhumi-Victoria Monument-Hua Lamphong
If I am traveling with my spouse or a friend, I'd rather take the taxi, which drops me right at the doorstep of my hotel, and only costs the price of two Airport Express bus tickets. Also, I don't have to worry about having to walk a long distance from the bus stop to anywhere I am going.
At the moment, there are still no express train services to Suvarnabhumi - it's still under construction and will not be completed before mid 2009 at the earliest. The express train, when ready, will connect Suvarnabhumi to the (also under construction) City Air Terminal, located at Makkasan. I will write more about it when the train is ready to be used.
Leaving Bangkok from Suvarnabhumi
To get to Suvarnabhumi Airport from Bangkok, hail a taxi. All the metered taxis should be able to take you there, and the journey doesn't require you to pay the 50 baht airport surcharge. Be sure to allow sufficient time and avoid rush hour, which should more accurately be known as crawl hour or stationary hour. Usually, the expressways are not jammed, but the roads leading to them are. Hence, you may get stuck on the same road for half an hour, moving less than 200 meters.
The departure tax from Suvarnabhumi Airport is 700 baht to an international destination, and 100 baht to a domestic destination. This is in place since February 2007, when the tax is also included into the air ticket (Previously a counter has to be set up for passengers to pay the tax, an unnecessary and tedious part of using the airports in Thailand).
Older Page
Here's my previous page on Suvarnabhumi Airport.
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Location Map of Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok
Photos of Suvarnabhumi Airport
Departure level entrance, Suvarnabhumi Airport (23 October 2006)
© Timothy Tye
Concourse of Suvarnabhumi Airport with traveltors (23 October 2006)
© Timothy Tye
Travelators at Suvarnabhumi Airport (23 October 2006)
© Timothy Tye
Inside Suvarnabhumi Airport (23 October 2006)
© Timothy Tye
Driveway, Suvarnabhumi Airport (23 October 2006)
© Timothy Tye
Pedestrian bridges entering Suvarnabhumi Airport (23 October 2006)
© Timothy Tye
Suvarnabhumi Airport pillar (23 October 2006)
© Timothy Tye
Suvarnabhumi Airport (23 October 2006)
© Timothy Tye
Taxis bringing passengers to Suvarnabhumi Airport (23 October 2006)
© Timothy Tye
Control tower and parking space at Suvarnabhumi Airport (23 October 2006)
© Timothy Tye
Sunset at Suvarnabhumi Airport (23 October 2006)
© Timothy Tye
Massive pillar holding up the roof of Suvarnabhumi Airport (23 October 2006)
© Timothy Tye
Suvarnabhumi Airport (23 October 2006)
© Timothy Tye
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