Food and beverage services and immigration waiting still haunt tourists going to and from Tan Son Nhat

These are the prominent issues that most readers have reported about the services and infrastructure at Tan Son Nhat Airport. Readers recommend that airport leaders listen to them and make necessary adjustments as soon as possible.

Passengers queue up to check in at the international terminal of Tan Son Nhat International Airport - Photo: CONG TRUNG

In the article sent by readers to Tuoi Tre Online , "Some comments about Tan Son Nhat airport", most of the readers' opinions revolved around the group of problems with airport services such as food and drink being too expensive, wifi being unstable, technology taxis being difficult to catch or being messy, the waiting line for exit and entry is always "long" and quite long...

High prices, lack of competition

The issue of high prices at Tan Son Nhat airport is a common concern of many readers. Minh Hien reflected that there are few free water dispensers in the international terminal, passengers have to wait in line. Meanwhile, the mineral water counter charges tens to hundreds of thousands of dong per bottle.

On the contrary, in some other areas, vending machines do not accept money, forcing passengers to go to counters selling goods at higher prices, as reflected by Nguoi Sg.

"At the domestic terminal, there are 10,000 VND bottles of water at the vending machine, but when the machine is not working, passengers are forced to go to the kiosk to buy the same type of water for 20,000 VND."

Readers Ng. Hung The analysis that the price of food and drinks in the airport is expensive has a reason. In this reader's opinion, if the price was as cheap as outside, the airport would immediately become a market, a food court, and a specialty restaurant.

To bring food, cooking, staff... into the airport, you have to bid, the actual cost is very high, selling at that price also only makes very little profit.

Airport food service is expensive - Photo: CONG TRUNG

Meanwhile, reader Huong Vu commented that the prices of food and drinks at the airport counters are only affordable for a few people with money, or for those who really need them right away.

Reader Pho also commented on his experience of eating a bowl of pho with a cup of coffee for nearly 600,000 VND. This reader commented that the price was... "sky-high".

Reader Hung Thanh shares the same experience, listening to familiar opinions about airport service feedback many times, many years but still no significant changes.

"Once at Tan Son Nhat airport, my family ate pho and drank mineral water. When we paid the bill, we were breathless. It was unbelievably expensive," said reader Hung Thanh.

Another major issue passengers complain about is the unfriendly attitude of airport staff, especially at customs and security areas.

Reader Kel reflects that Tan Son Nhat airport prices are among the most expensive in the region, if not the world . The attitude of customs and airport security is unfriendly, unsightly and pretentious. The South has been integrated with the world for a long time, but this international gateway of the South is still far from being on par with others.

Quang Minh reported that immigration staff were rarely friendly and had a cold attitude, making passengers feel uncomfortable.

"I departed about a week ago in the morning and that day there were countless passengers stuck at security and immigration, while the way the staff checked passports acted like it didn't matter if someone was late.

Everyone stood there, dismayed, shaking their heads, even foreign tourists. That day, airlines like Qatar, Singapore Airlines, and Vietnam Airlines had to send staff holding passenger name boards to the security checkpoint to find their passengers, because they had already checked in their passengers, but when it came to security procedures for departure and entry, there was a jam and the plane was about to take off" - reader Quang Minh commented.

Many readers shared their disappointment that service staff should be cheerful and polite, but here they are the opposite. Meanwhile, at other international airports, staff are always smiling and friendly to customers.

The Auto Gate system (automatic entry and exit) is equipped at the international terminal, but many passengers complain that it is difficult to use or has errors - Photo: CONG TRUNG

Waiting for immigration procedures "haunts" tourists

The issue of immigration procedures was also mentioned by many readers. One reader recounted a case where he was also late and a student asked to go ahead to complete the procedures because he was more than 10 minutes late.

"I also let her go first. When I passed through customs and ran out of breath to the gate, the staff saw me and breathed a sigh of relief and said, "Sir, we just sent someone out to look for you." When I returned to my home country, it only took me less than 5 minutes to go through security.

The automatic immigration gate at Tan Son Nhat airport is probably just there for show and not used by many people, because it was not designed for many people to use while there is a long line of people waiting on the other side" - this reader shared.

Readers ' comments I am a foreigner when going to Thailand to exit and enter the country, I have priority. When returning to Vietnam, I can only use the automatic gate when entering, but not when exiting. I have to wait in line for a long time.

My suitcase was damaged and I wanted to receive 300,000 VND in compensation from Ruili China. I waited for 2 weeks, and finally they sent me a paper that I had to print and sign to confirm. It was too much so this reader gave up.

Meanwhile, at Beijing airport in China, if your suitcase breaks, you just need to go to the counter and they will immediately give you 300 yuan (more than 1 million VND) without having to say or write anything complicated. Free water for passengers at the boarding gates is sometimes available and sometimes not, and if it is, they do not give you free paper cups, while all airports in China have free water everywhere.

Need to improve to meet passenger expectations

Tan Son Nhat Airport is currently facing many problems that need to be improved to meet the needs and expectations of passengers. Readers' comments are an important basis for the authorities and airport management units to make timely adjustments. In addition to some infrastructure and service issues, many opinions say that traffic connection and transportation within the airport still have many shortcomings.

Reader Coc said that to take a taxi to the domestic terminal, you have to drag your suitcase through the domestic terminal for a long distance. There were days when you didn't know where to go and had to go around looking for the entrance. To park your motorbike, you had to walk through the international terminal and also had to go around to get there because you didn't know the way.

A reader named HT said that I see people talk every year and almost only stop at giving suggestions, but whether people listen and improve or not is a matter of luck, but more often than not, bad luck. For example, when bringing customers by motorbike, the people waiting do not know where to park to wait for Grab, parking from beginning to end and arguing and fighting like eating. Until now, I still do not understand why there is no tunnel from the parking lot to the station area, having to go across the stream of cars is both dangerous and congested.

However, readers thie****@gmail.com said that they often travel from Ho Chi Minh City to other places if there is an airport but have never been to the airport by motorbike, car, taxi, or family pick-up. All go to and from the airport by bus. Cheap, cool, no worries about traffic jams or being late.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/dich-vu-an-uong-cho-xuat-nhap-canh-van-am-anh-du-khach-di-den-tan-son-nhat-20241230162119881.htm