Thailand's Immigration Bureau (IB) has announced that foreigners will be able to use the automated lanes at Suvarnabhumi International Airport from December 15. This decision has been taken to reduce congestion on the way out and is in line with the Prime Minister's directive enforced by Srettha Thavasin. It also aims to reduce congestion for passengers who are in a hurry to catch a flight.
Earlier in the day, the Thai Prime Minister issued the directive at a meeting of the tourism sub-committee at Suvarnabhumi Airport. The action was taken before his departure to attend the APEC meeting in San Francisco, United States, in mid-November this year.
Police Lt. Gen. Itthiphon Itthisanronnachai, who serves as chief of the Immigration Bureau, revealed today that the IB has developed an automated channel or automated passport inspection system for departures at Suvarnabhumi Airport. Initially, the system could only check Thai passport holders, but from December 15, it will also serve foreign passport holders.
Since 2012, Suvarnabhumi Airport has been operating an automated channel system for departures, consisting of 16 machines that primarily focus on checking Thai passengers. The process, which includes facial and fingerprint checks, takes about 20 seconds per person. The automated system is more efficient than manual screening by officers, which takes about 45 seconds per person.
With between 50,000 and 60,000 passengers a day, Suvarnabhumi Airport faces peak congestion when more than 20 flights depart simultaneously. The check-in, security and immigration processes can cause passengers to be late and risk missing their flight if there is a delay. Therefore, the Immigration Bureau is trying to simplify the steps to speed up the processing of large numbers of passengers and avoid negative impact on flight schedules.
