Bangkok airports hit turbulence: Ranked among world’s worst
Suvarnabhumi International Airport and Don Mueang International Airport in Bangkok ranked among the worst air travel hubs in Asia according to Business Financing’s recent report.
The financial information and research website from the UK, Business Financing, launched the Best & Worst Airports in the World, According to Business Travellers in February this year. This rank is based on the business travellers across the world on the online forum, Air Quality.
Aside from information provided by the Air Quality website, Business Financing did not explicitly outline the additional criteria and conditions considered in the rankings.
Scores ranged from 1 to 10, with only 12 airports achieving a score above 5. Noi Bai International Airport in Vietnam claimed the top spot with a score of 6.8, while Brussels South Charleroi Airport in Belgium was deemed the worst in the world this year.
Noi Bai International Airport also secured the top position in Asia, surpassing Singapore’s Changi Airport, which held the top spot in Skytrak’s 2023 ranking. Kuwait International Airport was identified as the worst airport in Asia.
Two of the 10 worst airports in Asia were the airports in the capital of Thailand, Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueng Airports. Suvarnabhumi Airport was in seventh place while Don Mueang Airport was in tenth place. The rank together with the complaints about the two airports, garnered attention in Thailand.
Thai MP opposes ranking
Last week, Suvarnabhumi Airport experienced an electric system failure in its driverless automated people mover (APM) train, causing a 30-minute delay for over 500 passengers.
A well-known Thai actor Jesdaporn “Tik” Pholdee also expressed dissatisfaction with the smoking prohibited area at the airport, citing a significant amount of cigarette butts.
Concerns about the overall atmosphere and facilities at Don Mueang Airport, along with delays at Suvarnabhumi Airport, continue to surface on social media.
Prime Minister’s Office spokesperson Chai Watcharong responded to the ranking on Twitter. He urged Thai people to carefully check the source of the rank before concluding or depreciating airports in Thailand.
Chai questioned the expertise and international acceptance of Business Financing within the airport industry, emphasising the need to assess every aspect of the evaluation. He added that the rankings may be based on the satisfaction assessment of some travellers regarding factors such as queue times at check-in counters.
