DON MUEANG AND SUVARNABHUMI INCLUDED IN LIST OF WORST AIRPORTS

DON MUEANG AND SUVARNABHUMI INCLUDED IN LIST OF WORST AIRPORTS

The authority of a UK publication that listed Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang airports among Asia's worst airports has drawn criticism from the Thai government.

Asia's top and worst international airports were listed by the travel and tourism website Business Financing last month.

Vietnam’s Noi Bai International Airport took the top spot, knocking former title holder, Singapore’s Changi Airport, into second place. (Noi Bai was also ranked the best international airport in the world.) Hong Kong International Airport was ranked the third best in Asia.

On the list of Asia’s worst international airports, Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi came in at number 7, with Don Mueang at number 10.

However, Chai Watcharong, a Thai government spokesman has questioned the rankings. Posting on X, he asks if Business Financing is sufficiently recogised by the aviation industry to be qualified to evaluate airports.

He goes on to say that the criteria used to determine the rankings was less than comprehensive, relying on passenger surveys that only looked at check-in procedures as opposed to overall factors including parking, amenities, security, and design, among others.

Chai says readers of Business Financing should use their discretion when reading such lists.

Meanwhile, Skytrax, which ranks international airports, has ranked Suvarnabhumi at 68 in its 2023 list of the world’s best airports. In that list, Singapore’s Changi came in first, followed by Hamad Airport in Qatar.

Chai points out that Vietnam’s Noi Bai International Airport didn’t even feature in the top 100 of that list. He adds that Skytrax is a reliable website when it comes to evaluating airports, as it considers the overall passenger experience from check-in to departure.