Suvarnabhumi Airport plans to open its Auto Gate lanes to travellers from 31 more nationalities by the end of August. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Commerce Suphajee Suthumpun led a site visit and briefing at the airport. Officials from the Tourism and Sports and Transport ministries took part.
The airport handles about 190,000 passengers a day in peak season, and 140,000 to 150,000 a day in low season. International arrivals account for roughly 70,000 passengers a day. Immigration is busiest between 1pm and 5pm, when 5,000 to 6,000 passengers an hour pass through.
The Immigration Bureau has approved the expansion in principle and is waiting on final signatures. The list was drawn from entry-refusal figures, a country’s ranking on the Henley Passport Index and security assessments.
The change is expected to add about 6.5 million potential Suvarnabhumi Auto Gate users, plus 900,000 long-term visa holders. Officials expect the gates to take 53% of arriving passengers once the system is running fully, leaving 47% at a staffed counter.
The gates will open in stages, as each part of the system is ready and as biometric records allow. Travellers who have entered Thailand before and are already on file will be able to use them first. Anyone arriving for the first time still has to have their biometrics taken at the counter before the gates are an option for them.
Airport authorities also plan immediate steps to thin the queues. They will make use of all three immigration zones, redirect passengers, open a central hall and put more officers on duty at peak times.
Deputy government spokesperson Lalida Periswiwatana warned that some tourists file the Thailand Digital Arrival Card through unofficial websites, in remarks reported by Xinhua. Those sites charge fees or carry a fraud risk, she said, while the official system costs nothing.
Suphajee said the relevant agencies would handle immediate problems at Suvarnabhumi. Anything needing legislation or long-term investment will go to government level.
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