Airports of Thailand Plc (AOT) has said it remains optimistic that Suvarnabhumi Airport will be ranked among the top 50 airports globally by next year. Over the past decade, numerous enhancements have been made to the airport’s facilities and services, boosting its ranking from 68th in 2023 to 58th in 2024 in the World’s Best Airports rankings by Skytrax.
According to AOT Director Kerati Kijmanawat, one significant upgrade contributing to this improvement is the recent opening of the Midfield Satellite 1 terminal in September 2023, which increased the airport’s annual passenger handling capacity from 45 million to 60 million.
Kirati said efforts over the past year have focused on refining passenger services and reducing waiting times at immigration and luggage checkpoints. This includes the planned introduction of 80 “Auto Gate” kiosks in August, allowing passengers to accelerate the immigration process using facial recognition technology.
AOT also disclosed plans to increase the number of immigration officers at the facility by up to 200 and install CT scanners that can detect liquids in carry-on baggage, enhancing security checkpoint efficiency. The agency has also requested that airlines open check-in counters as early as four hours before departure to alleviate congestion in the departure hall. (NNT)
