Bangkok Suvarnabhumi Airport
Suvarnabhumi Airport is Bangkok’s new international airport. After numerous delays, Suvarnabhumi Airport officially opened on September 28, 2006, taking over all flights from Don Muang Airport that served the Thai capital for more then 60 years.
Suvarnabhumi Airport is located approx. 25 km east of Bangkok. The name Suvarnabhumi (pronounced su-wan-na-poom) was chosen by H.M. King Bhumibol Adulyadej and refers to an acient kingdom hypothesized to have been located somewhere in Southeast Asia. Costing approx. 3 billion US Dollars, the state-of-the art airport is designed by Murphy & Jahn Architects and features the world's tallest control tower (132 m). The airport’s passenger capacity is presently 45 million passengers annually and 100 million passengers upon full development.
To get a sense of the airport design, think of a huge “H” on the ground. The two vertical legs of the H are the 2 parallel runways and taxiways that are able to accommodate simultaneous departures and arrivals of 76 flights per hour. The crossbar of the H is the passenger terminal complex, complete with parking lots and airport hotel. The airport’s capacity inlcudes a total of 120 aircraft parking bays; 51 with contact gates (with 5 of these capable of accommodating the Airbus A380) and 69 remote gates.
The passenger terminal total covers an area of over 563,000m? on seven floors, making it the world's largest single airport terminal building. The structure's main materials are steel and glass. An innovative roof trellis, designed to shade the building against the intense tropical sun and to reduce the cost of air conditioning, is the largest of its kind.
Both international and domestic flights share the same terminal, but are assigned to different parts of the concourse. A total of 360 check-in counters run from the left to the right side of the terminal on Level 4, which is designated for Departures.
Passenger Terminal Layout
The Passenger Terminal has 7 stories above ground and 2 stories below. The basement stories will eventually be taken up by the rail airport link and are not open until 2008.
| 1st Floor: |
Public Transportation (Bus, Limousine, Taxi) and Medical Center |
| 2nd Floor: |
Arrival Hall: Domestic & International Flights
(Meeting point with tour guides)
Transit Passenger Level; Spa, Movie Theatre (planned) |
| 3rd Floor: |
Airport Lounges, Shops, Restaurants, Service Centers
Day-use rooms Hotel (planned) |
| 4th Floor: |
Departure Hall: Domestic & International Flights
Airline Check-in Counters, Immigration & Customs Control
Government Offices, Airport Information Center |
| 5th Floor: |
THAI and Star Alliance Offices |
| 6th Floor: |
Restaurant (planned) |
| 7th Floor: |
Observation Desk (planned) |
Transfer Time
Transfers to and from Suvarnabhumi Airport takes 40 – 60 min., depending on traffic and the destination in the city. Transfers from the airport to Pattaya take approx. 1 ? hrs, Transfers to Cha-Am / Hua Hin approx. 4 hrs. International Check-in is min. 2 hours before departure, Domestic Check-in is min. 1 hour before departure.
The construction of the City Airport Terminal in Makkasan and a 28 km high speed rail link to the new airport started in July 2005 and are planned for completion in 2008.
Airport Hotel
In front of the passenger terminal building and above the underground rail link station is the newly opened 600-room Novotel Suvarnabhumi Hotel. >>> Bangkok_Selected Hotels
Hotels between Suvarnabhumi Airport & City Center A number of 4* Hotels are located between Suvarnabhumi Airport and the city center. (Approx. transfer times are indicated in brackets): Royal Princess Srinakarin (20-30 min.), Novotel Bang Na (20-30 min.), Radisson Hotel (30-45 min.), Amari Atrium Hotel (30-45 min.) >>> Bangkok Selected Hotels |
