All arriving luggage to be x-rayed at main airports

All arriving luggage to be x-rayed at main airports

Passengers wait for their luggage at a conveyor belt in the arrivals area of Suvarnabhumi airport. (Photo Apichit Jinakul)
Passengers wait for their luggage at a conveyor belt in the arrivals area of Suvarnabhumi airport. (Photo Apichit Jinakul)

The Customs Department will install luggage x-ray machines in arrival areas at all major airports by the 2019 fiscal year, a senior official said on Thursday.

All arriving passengers' luggage will be scanned once the machines are installed and working.

This will help increase security and crack down on smuggling of drugs and other illegal items, department director-general Kulit Sombatsiri told the World Customs Organisation meeting.

The machines would be installed at Suvarnabhumi airport first, and then at other popular gateways to Thailand, including Don Mueang, Chiang Mai and Phuket.

The cabinet had approved a budget of 1 billion baht for the project. The terms of reference were expected to be ready in May and then bids would be called.

Mr Kulit said the first installation phase could start in the 2018 fiscal year and should be completed no later than 2019.

Currently, only selected baggage is x-rayed.

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