Spend the night at Don Muang airport

[TroyinEwa/Perv]

samak.......where are you flying in from and where are you going to? International to international, you should not have to clear INS and Customs with any luggage you checked if you just stay in the terminal. If you are flying into Thailand and traveling domestically the next morning, you must go through immigration and customs. As far as the facilities for sleeping, I am not a member of a lounge so I don't know for sure but I would say if it's open 24 hours, it should not be a problem to grab a chair or sofa and make yourself comfortable.

[zzzz]

There's a 24 hr day room in the transient area at the top of an escalator. I spent a few hours there one night. There's info on the airport web site about this. It's not cheap -- I paid about $40US for about 4 hours, if I remember correctly.

[samak]

TroyinEwa1 said:If you are flying into Thailand and traveling domestically the next morning, you must go through immigration and customs

 

well, interesting! have you gone through this or what is your source of information? usually for flights to Phuket, Chiang Mai, Hat Yai and Ko Samui, you can check your luggage through, can do immigration at your final destination and transfer is from transit area to domestic terminal. why should this not also be applicable for flights the next morning? how do they enforce that you have to do immigration in Bangkok?

[zzzz]

If the domestic leg picks up domestic passengers then it is likely that you would have to go through immigration in BKK.

If you are going through immigration in BKK, I would not recommend hanging around the transit area too long since I was under the impression that a special Thai immigration crew is set up to handle each flight and if you show up after the crew leaves. you may experience unusual delay going through immigration.

[samak]

<If the domestic leg picks up domestic passengers then it is likely that you would have to go through immigration in BKK> this is certainly not correct; i have been on flights to Chiang mai and Phuket and there are domestic passengers as well as international transit passengers and they have to enter through different gates at final destination.

there is no special immigration crew for each flight, but they check with which flight you were coming. so it could raise some questions when you go through immigration long after arrival of the flight (you could always tell that you were shopping in the OTOP shops) but probably more of a concern would be that you have to find your luggage as belt was cleared long time ago!

[zzzz]

I'd like to believe you but I don't think you know what you are posting about. What would you know about there being no immigration crew for a flight? What is your basis? Also, if they are mixing up domestic and international passengers, there is bound to be major problems w/ international passengers bypassing immigration at the end.

[limbo]

No there isn't zzz.

 

If you arrive at Don Muang and have a connecting flight to Samui, your luggage is checked through and you're transferred to the domestic lounge by bus, a different domestic lounge than the domestic travellers.

You're given some kind of colour coded sticker to wear.

 

Upon arrival in Samui, you're again taken in a seperate bus, with all the sticker wearing folks, to Immigration at Samui airport, which is located in a different terminal than the domestic travellers will use.

 

Same in reverse if you leave Samui for a connecting international destination. Thus avoiding having to pay departure tax twice.

[samak]

<I don't think you know what you are posting about>

 

sure i have no idea; just arriving and departing from Don Muang in average about twice per month for several years....

 

a special immigration crew per flight? during peak hours, there are usually several flights landing within 30 minutes on each terminal; how should this work? have you ever seen special assigned immigration boots for a specific flight?

 

limbo confirmed the mix of international and domestic passenger for flights to Samui; same for Phuket, Hat yai and Chiang Mai!

[zzzz]

Let me put it this way: I had a problem once getting through BKK immigration after sleeping for about 4 hours in the transit area day room. The crew that was there did not seemed to be setup to handle my flight that arrived about 5 hrs ago. I was "questioned" (a big language problem) by immigration and they had to call in another officer to process me through. It may be that a crew is set up to handle certain flights.

[buffalo_bill]

samak ,

 

what is the problem with leaving the airport going through customs. you have nothing better to do anyway . spending the night at Don Muang looks as follows :

 

a) Biz lounge ( TG )is open all night due to outgoing planes all night . there are no sleeper seats , you will not like it .

 

Sleep somewhere on the floor in transit area between the folks waiting for their 4 days delayed Kazhakstan International Airways to Stalingrad International Airport.

 

c) take a windowless dayroom in transit area.

 

d) clear customs and take a room at Amari Airport , the second best solution for the discerning traveller .

 

e) clear customs , take luggage and relax 3 days at the Oriental , you will start to like this trip. I have invented this procedure and is is approved by myself as a good start into Asian business opportunities. Speed is not everything .

 

Thinks BuBi