What is Thailand's premier international air travel gateway?

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SUVARNABHUMI AIRPORT: GATEWAY TO A GOLDEN LAND

Suvarnabhumi Airport, Thailand’s premier international air travel gateway and a regional centre for aviation, links all aspects of air travel and transport. It also supports the country’s travel and tourism development, as befits its auspiciousname, “Suvarnabhumi.” The name, which means “Golden Land” was bestowedupon it by His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej.

Suvarnabhumi Airport was built on 3,100 hectares of land in the Bang Phli District of Samut Prakan Province, about 25 kilometres east of Bangkok. The main access road is an elevated 10-lane highwayconnected to the outer ring road network. It also connects directly to the Bangkok-Chon Buri (Pattaya) Motorway. The beach resort of Pattaya is an hour and a half’s drive away.

Designed by Murphy/Jahn Architects, the airport has the world’s tallest control tower (132.2 metres), and the second largest single building as an airport terminal (563,000 square metres), slightly smaller than Hong Kong International Airport’s 570,000 square metres.

It replaces the old Don Muang International Airport which was Asia’s fourth busiest airport for passenger traffic in 2005 (Tokyo, Beijing and Hong Kong were the first three).

Built at an estimated cost 155 billion baht, Suvarnabhumi has two parallel runways and two parallel taxiways accommodating simultaneous departures and arrivals. SUVARNABHUMI AIRPORT: GATEWAY TO A GOLDEN LAND It has a total of 120 parking bays, five of them capable of handling the Airbus A380. The main passenger terminal building can handle 76 flight operations an hour, and 45 million passengers and three million tonnes
of cargo per year.

Above the future underground rail link station and in front of the passenger terminal building is the 612-room Novotel Hotel, a member of the Accor Group. Between the hotel and the terminal building are two five-storey car parks with a combined capacity for 5,000 cars.

Plans for runways and two terminals capable of handling up to 100 million passengers and 6.4 million tonnes of cargo a year are on the drawing board. The second phase of airport expansion, the construction of a satellite building south of the main terminal, should begin three years from now.

Rail networks: A 26.6-km high-speed rail link from the airport to the City Airport Terminal in Makkasan is currently being built, with November 2007 as its planned completion date. The City Airport Terminal network is connected to BTS Bangkok Mass Transit System (BTS) Sukhumvit Line and the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) Blue Line at Phaya Thai and Phetchaburi stations. The total journey to the airport will take approximately 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) provides a suburban commuter train service between Hua Takhe, the nearest station to Suvarnabhumi on the East line, and the northern suburb of Rangsit through Bangkok and the old Don Muang Airport. The train also connects with the BTS at Phaya Thai station and with MRT at Phetchaburi station. Passengers pay a flat fare of 30 baht.

A shuttle bus service linking the airport with Hua Takhe railway station is provided by the Bangkok Mass Trasit Authority (BMTA) for 15 baht. The train service is less popular than the bus service as it requires a shuttle
bus connection, and it will be phased out when the Airport Express Link is completed.

Departure tax: International travellers departing the airport must pay a 500-baht tax levied by the airport operator, Airports of Thailand. The tax is not included in the price of airline tickets. It is paid to airport staff before queuing for immigration processing. On February 1, 2007, the international departure tax will be raised to 700 baht. Airport Hotel: Novotel Suvarnabhumi Airport Hotel is a five-minute walk from the airport along a 300-metre nderground
walkway. The hotel has 612 rooms, four restaurants, two bars, a swimming pool, business centre, fitness centre and health spa.