Bangkok Airport Experience

[Paul Hurdsfield - Joint Manchester AO]

I though you might be interested in the passage through Bangkok Airport.

Thailand is virtually Covid free and I can now see why.

On leaving the plane, through the gate and onto the pier, you are escorted through tape barriers onto the moving walkway. At the end of the walkway there were rows of chairs and loads of security and people all kitted out with PPE.

You are told to sit and a nurse takes your temperature and photograph, then checks your paperwork, all 17 pages of it.  then she pins a number on your chest.

Once that is complete your are sent to a security guard who then checks your paperwork, all 17 pages of it 

He sends you to a desk where all your paperwork is checked again 

From there to another seating area where you wait while they pick people out at random to check their temperature and paperwork 

Then its all stand and follow this person along the main concourse, but in a walkway defined by tape barriers about 6 feet apart, and into the immigration hall where its the usual routine, passport, visa, paperwork photo.

Once clear you are escorted to the baggage claim and told to go to gate 9 when you have your luggage, here you are met by a lady who, yes you've got it, checks your paperwork, takes your photo, and makes a phone call. A guy arrives, he is our driver and escorts us to our cab, he then sanitises all our bags before putting them in the cab and off we go, he has a clear acrylic screen partitioning the passenger compartment from the front.

At the hotel we are met in the car park by 2 young ladies, all kitted out, while they take our temperature and check our paperwork our bags are removed from the cab and sanitised, placed in the lift and gone, when the lift comes back we are told to get in and press 30, no one gets in with us, at 30 the doors open and a guy, all suited up points to an open door, in we go door shut, quarantine begins

I can see why Thailand is in such a good place, and I am happy to comply with any rules they have.

Contrast all that with our experience back in March when we flew it to Heathrow after being stranded in Australia, at a deserted Heathrow we passed through the normal immigration desks, picked up our luggage, got in a taxi and drove home, no checks, no questions, no temperature check nothing, I was absolutely disgusted, its no wonder GB got into the state it's in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Paul Hurdsfield - Joint Manchester AO]

Our second flight was from Dubai to Bangkok.

The airport was deserted.

We flew that leg in Business class ,our cabin had 14 seats only four were occupied.

 

 

[pistonbroke]

Contrast that with Wigan Pier Covid 19 control

 

1 x Cattle prod + sheep dip 

[Steve (sdh2903)]

Impossible to be sure with the mask on but am pretty sure I used to work with the bloke in the 2nd pic who's waiting on the red dot 

[Arm]

I would agree this is how it should be done. Maybe some of those on furlough should have been given the opportunity to go and help out ! 

[corsechris]

Can you imagine the p******** and moaning if that was implemented here? There is no way 'we' would accept that, despite the fact it is an entirely sensible thing to be doing. We are simply too damned stroppy in this country to let that happen - everyone is way too obsessed with themselves to consider the good of the group. Remember the crowded beaches in the summer? Everyone complaining how busy it was and that they had only come down for some fresh air and what were all these people doing here......then the tons of garbage left behind.

[Rhett Turner - Black Country AO]

Fully understand the approach they are taking, we flew into Bangkok (via Doha) mid Feb just as the pandemic was gaining pace and restrictions were starting to be put in place.

 

In Doha there were regular temperature check areas as we moved around the airport with anyone showing the slightest raised temperature being pulled to one side, then again both flying into and out of Bangkok and Phuket it was the same.

 

When we arrived back in Britain in early March absolutely nothing, no information, not temperature checks it was as though nothings was developing.

Generally, we felt safer in the Far East, they just seemed to be geared up for it and accept what was starting to happen. As we left some of the hotels we were given masks to use on out travels.

 

[corsechris]

Don't forget the middle east has already had to live through SARS & MERS, so they have experience. They seem to have, at least on the face of it, a more compliant and considerate culture than ours too.

 

I quite agree we should have been imposing restrictions as soon as it became clear this was a pandemic. Way too slow, way too confused, way too weak. But of course, 20:20 hindsight is easy.

[Somerset Jim]

Some countries also respond a bit more quickly and firmly.

 

We were on holiday in several venues in Borneo / Malaysia in February and Borneo had already banned flights from China (despite the fact this meant half their hotels were empty - so lots of cheap upgrades available).

 

We had our temperature taken before every entry into bars / restaurants - anyone with a temperature was being isolated in their hotel. 

 

Got back to Heathrow and it was like a different world.  

 

 

[Blatman]

42 minutes ago, corsechris said:

Don't forget the middle east has already had to live through SARS & MERS, so they have experience. They seem to have, at least on the face of it, a more compliant and considerate culture than ours too.

 

I suspect that the penalties for non compliance in the middle and far east nations are both more severe and actually enforced rigorously as well so they have a real, discernable deterrent for breaching the rules.

Completely agreee about the self-obsessed self-entitled nature of far too many people here in the UK too. 

[BigSkyBrad]

If you want to see it done properly, look to NZ. They went in hard and fast, everyone played the game, and concequently only 2000 cases and 25 deaths, and no new domestic cases in months. All arrivals into the country get off the plane or boat, on to the waiting bus, and taken to to a quaranteen hotel for two weeks with the army sitting outside. At the end of the fortnight, after two negative tests, you're given the bill for your accommodation and you're free to go. Jump the fence at the hotel, and it's a $3000 fine/6mths clink.

NZ is at level 0.5 (freedom with caution) - concerts and rugby stadiums are back to normal, and the economy is ok. They had one wee flair up, traced back to an incomer, acted quick, sorted.

 

Oz aren't that fair behind, going about it the same way.

 

And 50(?)  flights a day continue to pour into the UK and scatter the scourge.

 

We were talking at work the other day about it all, about the self-absorbed, self entitled mentioned above. Heaven help us if the UK ever went into a world war again! How many of today's youth will turn up to the conscription office like they did in WW1 and 2 to fight for their nation, and the rest abide by rationing and curfews, surrendering their pots and pans to make fighter planes! The planet is running out of food, and land to grow it, while some clown running one of the most influential countries in the world tells us to drink bleach! Hopefully I'm at an age that I won't see the implosion in my lifetime.

 

I'm off my soap-box now.

 

[Blatman]

35 minutes ago, BigSkyBrad said:

They had one wee flair up

 

I had one of those but 5 days on Erythromycin soon cleared it up

 

39 minutes ago, BigSkyBrad said:

We were talking at work the other day about it all, about the self-absorbed, self entitled mentioned above. Heaven help us if the UK ever went into a world war again!

 

 

[Paul Hurdsfield - Joint Manchester AO]

12 hours ago, Rhett - Joint Black Country AO said:

In Doha there were regular temperature check areas as we moved around the airport with anyone showing the slightest raised temperature being pulled to one side, then again both flying into and out of Bangkok and Phuket it was the same.

On the 23rd we are off to Phuket for Christmas week 

Straight out of quarantine and onto the plane 

[Paul Hurdsfield - Joint Manchester AO]

12 hours ago, Somerset Jim said:

We had our temperature taken before every entry into bars / restaurants - anyone with a temperature was being isolated in their hotel. 

 

It was the same in Thailand back in February, temperature taken before you got into any building.

[Paul Hurdsfield - Joint Manchester AO]

Why cant I delete this post?