A lot has been said about the opening of our new airport, but whether we like it or not, it will soon be the only one we’ve got. Seeing as there is so much speculation about it (how do I get there? What can I do there? how can I get home?), BK has provided you with this (hopefully) very useful handbook. Just don’t forget to take this issue with you on your first visit to the multi-million baht building—it’s huge and easy to get lost inside. Trust us, we did.

Getting In and Out

Whether you are going to Nong Bua Lumpoo or Switzerland, if it’s after September 28, you have to go through Suvarnabhumi. Here’s some things you should know about traveling there.

Traveling time: It takes about 45 minutes to get there from the central business district (CBD)—Silom, Sukhumvit and Siam—via the expressway, depending on traffic. Leave a little extra time for finding your way around the airport, too, as it’s positively massive. If you are going via taxi, your driver will most likely know how to get to the airport, however navigating within the grounds may be another story. Keep that in mind.

Public Transport: Arriving at the airport, you’ll be dropped off at your terminal. However, leaving the airport will be a different story. Because of a “no-traffic-policy” in front of the terminals, taxis and buses are no longer allowed to wait in long lines for you outside the arrival gates. All public road transportation leaving the airport will now be routed through the Public Transportation Center—a five-minute shuttle ride from the airport itself (see Public Transportation box). You will, however, be able to radio taxis at the Public Transportation Center to come pick you up at the terminal, for a fee.

Driving: You can hop in and out of cars in front of the terminal, but you can’t park there. The long-term parking area is about 3-4 minutes away on the Bang Na Trad side. Short-term parking can be done in a building opposite the terminal that accommodates up to 5,000 cars. AoT will initially use the same price structure as at Don Muang (one hour B25, two hours B45, up to 24 hours B250), though these prices are scheduled to go up.

There are five main access routes to the Passenger Terminal by road. From the north you can come via the expressway; northwest via Rom Klao elevated highway and King Kaew Rd.; south via Bang Na Trad highway; northeast via Lad Kra Bung (On Nut); or west via King Kaew Rd.

Passenger Hall Layout

The passenger hall has seven floors above and two stories below ground. The basement stories will eventually be taken up by the Airport Link (see Public Transportation Box) and as such will not be opened until late 2007 at earliest.

• Basement: Baggage conveyor belts
• 1/F, The Bus Lobby: Buses to the Public Transportation Center and medical centers
• 2/F, Arrival Hall: For both international and domestic flights
• 3/F: Lounges, shops, restaurants and service centers.
• 4/F, Departure Hall: Airline check in counters, customs control, government offices, airport information center, shops, restaurants and departure passenger services
• 5/F: The offices of THAI and Star Alliance airlines
• 6/F: “Fine” dining floor
• 7/F: Observation Deck

Check In, Chickens

The gigantic check-in terminal is nearly 100% glass and lets in tons of light, so bring a pair of shades. The islands are named alphabetically with the first three for domestic flights and the other seven for international. Each island has two rows of check in counters and there are another 100 e-check in machines for passengers with no luggage going under the plane.

Considering the size of the terminal, knowing where your airline check in counter is before you arrive is a good idea—this can mean all the difference if you are running late. Don’t bother calling the Suvarnabhumi Call Center (02-132-1888) as it’s always busy or there’s no answer. Contact your air carrier directly.

After you check in, and before you step through the line of passport control, check which gate you will board. Otherwise, you might have to walk for miles once you get through customs. When BK took a tour of the airport, we experimented with walking time and it took a full 30 minutes going from check in point to the first concourse. Of course, this didn’t include window-shopping and ciggy break, so keep that in mind, too.

Custom-ary Law

Remember those unpleasant people queuing at customs with faces that look like they haven’t been to the toilet for years? Well, hopefully at Suvarnabhumi, we’ll all feel like those VIP’s whizzing past the line for a private passport check. Seventy-two counters are set up for departing passengers and 130 for arrival. 1,380 immigration officers have been furiously trained and are ready to be deployed at those booths. With any luck (fingers crossed), long lines should be a much more rare occurrence...as will those faces.

Safety First

Despite the rumor that permanent approval from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has been granted until its official opening, the AoT has set up a very tight security system. Passengers having flown through the USA will be familiar with it; the rest of us might feel a bit uncomfortable.

Before you even enter the terminal, you will have to go through a metal detector and let the security people search your bags. Every checked piece of luggage will be x-rayed. The threat of a gel-bomb still haunts AoT officers; so don’t try bringing gel materials in your carry-on luggage. This seemed a bit harsh, so BK asked, “what if we need to apply some gel on our eczema every hour on a 12-hour flight? Can we still carry that on board?” The answer was “no,” so it looks like your are either going to scratch it all the way or sit there and tum jai.

After checking in, all passengers proceed to other side of the terminal. Here, there is another security check, where you will be politely asked to remove your jacket, empty your pockets into the basket (similar to at Don Muang), and step through the metal detector (again). If you’re lucky enough to cause a beeeep, you win a little intimate body search by a security lady.

It’s not over yet! Once you walk down closer to the actual boarding gates, you reach another row of Mr. and Ms. Wizards with their magic wands to check you body again. All in all, you better start going to the gym to prepare for all the body searches you are in store for at the new airport.

If a terrorist threat does happen to arise, a bomb squad is on hand and armed security guards roam the premises continuously. In this unfortunate situation, a useful tip from an insider who doesn’t want to be named told BK, “Leave the area right away. Don’t even think of doing traditional Thai moong (rubber necking).”

Food Time!

The Suvarnabhumi passenger terminal is divided into two main sections: Landside and Airside. Ignoring for a moment all the official business of customs, security and getting on and off the plane, the Landside is where all the stuff you can do before you get through security is located (mostly eating), while the Airside is where all the stuff you can do after security is located (shopping and other activities).

Though the airport is scheduled to open in less than a month, many well-known eateries rumored to have branches at Suvarnabhumi are reluctant to say whether they will “officially” be there. Unofficially, here’s what some of the eating options will be on the Landside.

The most economical choice will be on the ground floor, where the Magic Point Food Court offers various types of Thai food priced B25-B80 per dish. Most of the restaurants, though, will be located on the third floor, including a Yamazaki-type bakery called Bakery Chic, Black Canyon and Starbucks coffee shops, Lee Café and Luis’ Tavern. The Tate Café is one of the new faces in the airport, using the name and concept of the Tate Modern Gallery of Art in England. The fare will be international, offering French baked goods, Sukhothai fried noodles and deep-fried chicken wings from Manila. Prices will range from B75-175 per dish. The pricier eating options are located on the sixth floor, which is the “fine dining” sector, however what dining outlets will be there is still undetermined.

If you need a quick “do” while you are waiting for a flight or a friend to arrive, head to Toni & Guy Essensuals on the third floor. This is the very first branch of the stylish hair salon operating in an airport. Expect the same high standard of cutting, setting, dying and coloring services (B250-1,500) in addition to a nail spa.

For those in desperate need during business hours only, the Landside also features a Medical Center on the Ground Floor, open 8am-5pm (24-hour Medical Centers are located on Airside at Concourses A and G).

Money to Burn

After going through customs and security, you arrive at the Airside of the terminal building, which is divided into seven concourses, named A through G. Concourses A and B are designated for domestic passengers, while D through G are international. At the head of these concourses is an intersecting area called the Airside Center, which is kind of like a four-story mall of shops, airline offices, lounges and entertainment plazas.

Level one of Airside Center is the services area, which will mainly be dedicated to airport staff. Level two is the arrival services area. Dedicated to passengers arriving, some after a long flight, the shops on this level are laid out with a “walk-through” concept. Levels three and four are dedicated to departure services—this is where most of the shopping and entertainment action will be located. Though it’s still largely under construction at the moment, they are planning big things here, including a business center, bars, restaurants, game rooms, salons, shower rooms and even a dentist and fitness center. Here are some of the other planned highlights.

While it’s confirmed that there will be a movie theater on the second floor in the transit passenger lounge, no film providers (SF, EGV, etc.) have stepped forward to claim it. By the time Suvarnabhumi is open, with luck, passengers will have something to watch other than UBC.

A spa being built on the second floor is rumored to be run by Sareerarom—yes, the same as the one on Thonglor.

An 80-room hotel called The Miracle by Louis’ Tavern Day Room will be located inside the passenger hall on the third floor. There, you can take a rest from the long haul flight before you hop off to another continent. Room rates are not yet finalized, but the minimum rental is four hours.

OK, so you have a couple hours to kill but you don’t want to get a room. A Suvarnabhumi insider tipped us for the best place to catch a quick cat nap: a comfort zone on the transit deck on the second floor. There, some unmarked seats are available in the dimmed light for a quick 40 winks.

Shopping outlets will abound in the Airside Center, offering everything from international brands to duty free items to OTOP products. Jim Thompson has confirmed that it will run a branch of its outlet at the airport. DHC, the Japanese cosmetic brand, will open its very first airport branch in Asia in the domestic terminal area. In addition, Volare, a sister branch of Zenotti, is planning to set up shop in concourse D next to the duty free pick up counter. Don’t lose face to those farang!

An Affordable Airport?

Luckily, the management of Suvarnabhumi has realized that the price of food and drink at Don Muang is ridiculously overpriced, and they have actually made an effort to tone things down a bit. As of now, airport management has stated that all food and drink after customs (Airside) will not exceed 25% over the product’s normal price. Along the same lines, King Power and Thai Commercial Bank have joined forces to offer a Suvarnabhumi Cash Card, coming in two denominations: B50,000 and B3,000. The 50K card gets you a 10% bonus and free limousine service from your place to the airport four times a year. You also get a 5-20% discount from King Power shops both at Suvarnabhumi and throughout Thailand. That may not sound like much but hey, you’re gonna need it—airport taxes are going up in February.