Like it or not, that's exactly what it is. It's the gateway to Thailand for the majority of international visitors and local residents returning from overseas travel.

So much has been said, written and rumoured about Bangkok's new airport before it was finished and after. I'm a fan (on the whole).

Design – well that's a personal thing anyway. It's certainly eye-catching from outside and makes a statement. Inside it's arguably a little cold – concrete and stainless steel have never been 'welcoming' materials to me. Compare to Singapore's Changi Airport with its warm d้cor and carpets which give a distinctly different feeling. But then Changi is quite a few years older and was designed when trends were different.

Suvarnabhumi on the other hand has had the 'benefit' of being a number of decades in the planning.

Now it's approaching its first operational anniversary. A time to celebrate? Well, apparently not. The airport came way down the world rankings – nothing to be ashamed of for an airport only one year old, really.

There are teething problems (we'll get to those in a minute), but most airports have some teething problems.

Compare Suvarnabhumi with London's Heathrow – one of the busiest in the world.

Heathrow started in the 1930s and has since had various additions and expansions. Despite it being one of a number of airports feeding the South of England and London area, Heathrow remains the busiest airport in the UK. And according to a recent report in The Economist, Heathrow consistently ranks near bottom in worldwide passenger surveys.

With an official capacity of 45 million users per year (same as Suvarnabhumi), Heathrow actually welcomes 67 million per year through its gates. A third of flights from Heathrow are delayed and thousands of bags are lost each day.

Heathrow has become a major issue in the UK now, following a change of ownership in 2006 when Spanish group Grupo Ferrovial bought the airport and borrowed heavily to do so. Concern is now that the investment required may not be so forthcoming while the debts are being serviced amid rising interest rates. And all this with the British Olympics just around the corner... well, in 2012 anyway.

Heathrow is just one of example of an airport gone (and going) wrong. Maybe this will put things into perspective when we look at Thailand's new gateway.

Back to Suvarnabhumi and its teething problems. Not enough toilets, bad internal layout, slow baggage delivery, transportation links, blah blah blah. Most of these are relatively simple to fix. And some of them have been already. The runway cracks, however, are a more serious issue.

Since the flurry of media reports on the runway cracks following their appearance last year, things have gone rather quiet on that front. Until now. Just a few weeks away from the airport's anniversary, a recent report in the Bangkok Post pointed out that the Airports Of Thailand (AOT) has until 10 October to file any case with the Office of the Attorney-General against the relevant parties. The deadline is set one year after the official handover of the airport by the contractors, and in accordance with the Statute of Limitations.

A report is currently being compiled by outside consultants – IMMS/JAC/KJSO-JIBAN Consortium – on the runway cracks and will soon be presented to the AOT. And based on this report, cases will be filed, or not. Chances are cases will indeed be filed and according to the same report in the Bangkok Post this could result in prosecution of the airport's designers, contractor, construction supervisor and also AOT officials.

From a user's perspective, Suvarnabhumi works. Sure a few more toilets are needed and baggage could arrive quicker, but on the whole I think it works. And it's a much better welcome to the country than the previous gateway of Don Muang Airport. Don Muang did its job, but it's time to move on. Let's hope once the current problems at Suvarnabhumi are fixed, all commercial flights will return there and Don Muang will no longer be needed for passenger travel.

Indeed it sounds like changes and improvements are well under way at Suvarnabhumi. After all, an AOT official was reported recently in The Nation to claim that Suvarnabhumi will become one of the top 20 airports in the world next year, and enter the top 10 in 2009.

Looks like everything must be alright. Right?

By A Suvarnabhumi fan.