SUVARNABHUMI – Pol. Maj. Gen. Choengron Rimpadee, Commissioner of Immigration Bureau 2 and spokesman of the Immigration Department, said they are ready to welcome tourists to Suvarnabhumi Airport for the 2024 New Year holiday, but advised passengers to allow at least 3 hours for the check-in process.
He said that due to the government’s policy to promote tourism and visa-free entry, it is estimated that more than 150,000 Thais and foreigners will enter and leave the country per day, especially Suvarnabhumi Airport, which is higher than the previous daily average of 120,000 people per day.
Currently, the airport may be crowded with passengers due to the expansion of flights and the increase in the number of travelers, especially Suvarnabhumi compared to the existing passenger terminal space. Therefore, it is necessary to use management methods to solve immediate problems so as not to affect travelers during peak flight hours.
The peak number of people entering the country is estimated to be around 5,000-6,000 people per hour, and the peak number of people leaving the country is estimated to be around 4,000-5,000 people per hour.
During arrival flights at Suvarnabhumi Airport, there can be up to 25 flights at the same time in some hours. There will be a large wave of passengers flocking to the immigration hall. There may be a build-up of pictures of passengers. Immigration has taken measures to speed up the clearance process by carrying out more than 7 steps of security screening. The time it takes an officer to check a passport is no more than 45 seconds per person.
In addition, there have been experiments with timing passengers who walk into the hall, wait in line, and receive screening per person. It was found that it takes about 18-20 minutes to enter for screening. The Immigration Bureau also needs to screen foreign criminals who may be disguised as tourists.
For departure at Suvarnabhumi Airport, passengers need to allow time for the check-in process at the airline, the security check point according to international safety standards, immigration, and the walk to the boarding gate to board the plane. Overall, passengers are advised to allow at least 3 hours in advance for check-in.
For the use of the automatic channel for departure at Suvarnabhumi Airport to accommodate the screening of foreigners using E-passports from over 70 countries around the world, it has been found that it can improve passenger congestion by about 6,000 people per hour from the original 4,100 people.
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