Flying for the first time is mostly a matter of doing a few things in the right order, before set deadlines. This guide walks through every step, from booking the ticket to leaving the airport at the other end. The examples come from Bangkok's two airports, Suvarnabhumi (BKK) and Don Mueang (DMK), and from Thai Airways and AirAsia, but the steps are the same almost everywhere. Deadlines vary by airline, so always check your airline's own rules too.
1. Booking your ticket
Your name must match your documents. Type your name exactly as it is printed on the passport (international flights) or ID card (domestic flights) you will travel with. Airports of Thailand (AOT) warns that if the name on your boarding pass doesn't match your ID, the airline can refuse to let you travel, and correcting it may cost a fee. If you have changed your name, check this before every trip.
Know what your fare includes. Fares differ in what they include, so check your booking confirmation for the baggage allowance. On AirAsia, for example, the fare includes up to two cabin bags weighing 7 kg together: one main bag (up to 56 × 36 × 23 cm) and one small item such as a handbag (up to 40 × 30 × 10 cm). Checked bags cost extra. AirAsia sells them in its app or on its website up to 2 hours before departure, or at the airport at least 4 hours before. Your booking also shows whether a seat choice is included.
Have the right documents. For an international flight you need your passport, and possibly a visa or an arrival form: check Before you fly for your passport and destination. For a domestic flight in Thailand, Thai passengers show an original ID card, passport or driving licence, or their digital ID in the ThaID or DLT QR Licence app. Children can use a birth certificate or passport. If you are not Thai, bring your passport.
2. Checking in: online or at the counter
Checking in confirms you are on the flight and gives you a boarding pass. You can usually do it online, at a kiosk at the airport, or at the airline's counter. For example:
- Thai Airways: in the app from 24 hours before departure, or at an airport kiosk from 48 hours to 90 minutes before. The counter closes 50 minutes before international flights and 40 minutes before domestic flights, and checked bags must be dropped at least 60 minutes before the flight.
- AirAsia: in the AirAsia MOVE app or on its website from 10 days to 1 hour before departure for flights to or from Thailand. Its check-in counters are only for some passengers, such as people aged 70 and over, passengers with disabilities, children travelling alone and groups of 10 or more. Everyone else is asked to check in online.
Other airlines set their own times, so look up yours. If an airline in Thailand sets no check-in time, the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) rules use 45 minutes before departure for domestic flights and 1 hour for international flights. Thailand's passenger rights rules only protect passengers who checked in on time.
3. What to pack in your cabin bag and your checked bag
Keep everything you can't do without in your cabin bag: passport or ID, phone, money, keys, medicines and anything valuable or fragile. Power banks and spare batteries must go in the cabin bag and never in a checked bag. In your cabin bag, liquids are limited to containers of 100 ml or less in one clear 1-litre bag, so pack larger bottles in your checked bag. For power banks, vapes, knives and everything else, see what you can't bring on a plane.
4. How early to be at the airport
Our how early should I be at the airport tool gives a time for each airport, using the airport's own advice where it publishes one, your airline's check-in deadline, and busy days such as Songkran and New Year. AOT's passenger guides for Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang give no single arrival time, so for those airports the tool uses 3 hours before international flights and 2 hours before domestic flights. See the pages for Suvarnabhumi and Don Mueang.
Then allow time to reach the gate. AOT advises being at the gate at least 45 minutes before departure at Don Mueang, and at least 45 minutes before boarding at Suvarnabhumi.
5. At the airport: bag drop and security
Check-in and bag drop. Find your airline's counter on the departure screens. If you checked in online and have a bag, drop it at the counter or a self bag drop machine. At Suvarnabhumi, Thai Airways' self bag drop is in rows D–E on the 4th floor. AirAsia lets you print your bag tag at an airport kiosk with the QR code from online check-in. With no checked bag and a boarding pass on your phone, you can go straight to security.
Security screening. Show your boarding pass and your original ID or passport, then put your bags through the X-ray machine and walk through the scanner. Take your liquids bag out of your cabin bag so it can be checked separately. Bangkok's airports have priority lanes for, among others, passengers aged 70 and over, pregnant women, families with infants and passengers with disabilities.
6. Passport control on international flights
On international flights you also go through passport control, where an officer (or an automatic gate) checks your passport and stamps you out of the country. At Suvarnabhumi's main terminal the automatic gates are open to all nationalities when leaving. If you have overstayed your visa, or need a re-entry permit to come back to Thailand, this is where it is dealt with.
7. Finding your gate and boarding
Your boarding pass shows your flight, seat, gate and boarding time. Check the gate on the flight information screens after security, and head there in good time. If your boarding pass shows a group or zone, wait until it is called. Keep your boarding pass and passport or ID in your hand: they are checked once more as you board.
Don't cut it close: the gate closes before departure, 10 minutes before take-off on Thai Airways, and after that you can't board.
8. On board
- Bags: your main cabin bag goes in the overhead bin, and the small item under the seat in front of you.
- Seat belt: fasten it whenever the seat belt sign is on. US rules, for example, require it as the plane leaves the gate, during take-off and climb, and during landing and taxiing. The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) advises keeping it fastened whenever you are seated, because turbulence can come without warning.
- Safety briefing: watch it at the start of the flight, read the card in your seat pocket, and follow the crew's instructions. See who's who on board for who does what and who to ask.
- Power banks: Thailand has strict rules on using them on board; see what you can't bring on a plane.
- Ears: pressure changes can make your ears feel full or hurt, usually as the plane descends. Swallowing or yawning helps. A cold or blocked nose makes it worse; if you are congested, ask a doctor or pharmacist before you fly.
9. Arriving
Domestic flights: follow the signs to baggage claim if you have a checked bag, then to the exit. Domestic bags arrive on belts 1–4 at Suvarnabhumi and belts 9–15 at Don Mueang.
International flights, in this order:
- Passport control. Arriving in Thailand, Thai passengers (and Singapore and Hong Kong passport holders) can use the automatic gates at Suvarnabhumi. Foreign visitors need to fill in the free Thailand Digital Arrival Card (TDAC) on the Immigration Bureau's website, tdac.immigration.go.th, within 3 days before arriving. Thai citizens and permanent residents don't.
- Health and quarantine checks, for example for yellow fever.
- Baggage claim. International belts are 5–23 at Suvarnabhumi and 1–6 at Don Mueang. If your bag is missing or damaged, report it at the airline's baggage service counter before you leave the hall.
- Customs. Take the green channel if you have nothing to declare, and the red channel if you do.
10. If your flight is delayed or cancelled
Check your airline's app or text messages and the departure screens. Depending on the rules that apply, the airline may owe you food and drink, a hotel, a refund, another flight or cash compensation. Keep your receipts. See your rights when your flight is delayed and your rights when your flight is cancelled.
Times and rules change, and every airline sets its own deadlines, so check your airline's own rules before you fly. The sources for this guide are listed below.
