Customs Department officials are satisfied with the overall performance of Suvarnabhumi Airport on its first two days of full operations, despite minor issues in cargo handling.

“There were no problems with passenger service, but some import-export entrepreneurs were inconvenienced when denied access to certain areas under the authority of multiple agencies. The overlap was caused by a lack of communication,” said Sathit Limpongpan, the director-general of the department.

“It was not serious, though. The department will hold a talk among the agencies involved as soon as possible and everything will be completely resolved.”

The Immigration Bureau plans to install fingerprint identification equipment at Suvarnabhumi Airport within the next two months.

The new equipment is part of a global trend among international airports to utilise biometric scanning technology for security and efficiency purposes.

"Immigration procedures at Suvarnabhumi are very fast. It takes only 20 seconds for the average passenger. It will be even faster when we finish installing the fingerprint identification units," said Police Lieutenant General Suwat Tumrongsriskul, Immigration Bureau Commissioner, who inspected the new airport Thursday during its first day of full commercial service.

Buddhist monks apologized to the spirits and asked them to ward off all bad luck in preparations yesterday for the opening of Bangkok's new international airport next week.

Despite more than 40 years of planning, a welter of corruption scandals and most recently a military coup, officials confirmed that Suvarnabhumi International Airport would be ready for full domestic and international service on Thursday.

Just to be sure, 99 monks and Brahmin priests were called in to perform a ceremony at the new facility 32km east of Bangkok.

Chotisak Aspaviriya, head of the Airports Authority of Thailand, said the ceremony was staged to apologize to the spirits of the land for any offenses committed during the construction of the airport, along with the spirits of animals who died on what was once swampland infested with snakes and other creatures.

Thai Airways said it will start using Bangkok's new airport for three international flights from today, a week ahead of its official opening.

The flag carrier will operate night flights to Seoul, and Beijing and Guangzhou in what will be test runs for the new airport, which is set to open for full commercial use on Thursday (Sept 28).

Suvarnabhumi airport, which name means 'golden land' in Thai, has been in the works for 40 years but suffered repeated delays due to construction problems and allegations of graft.

The new airport, with an initial capacity to serve 45 mln passengers a year, will replace the overburdened Don Muang, which currently handles about 37 mln passengers, 2 mln over its official capacity.

Suvarnabhumi airport is introducing modern technology to create an impressive environment and improve traveller comfort.

Suvarnabhumi, especially its passenger terminal, resulted from a collaboration of world-class structural, mechanical and electric engineers, physicists and architects.

"It's a modern building of the 21st century," said Airports of Thailand Plc chairman Srisook Chandrangsu, who has worked closely on the airport development from land acquisition through to design and construction.

The passenger terminal showcases building innovation as it does not have a single indoor pillar. Its superstructure consists mainly of large steel pillars erected 126 metres apart and supertrusses that bear the weight of the 210m x 567m roof. The steel structure allows for a wider span between pillars as it is lighter than concrete.