The Immigration Bureau has prepared a number of measures to facilitate air travel during the upcoming New Year holidays.
Pol Maj Gen Choengron Rimpadee, commander of immigration officers at the international airport, said on Sunday the number of passengers on international flights is likely to rise, with a rise of 30,000 to 150,000 travellers a day at Suvarnabhumi airport alone, partly due to the government's visa-free scheme.
"During peak hours, there are 5,000-6,000 inbound travelers and 4,000-5,000 outbound passengers an hour," he said, referring to traffic at the country's main airport, Suvarnabhumi.
According to the commander, more immigration officers will be deployed at international airports during each shift, with some reassigned from border checkpoints nationwide. All immigration police have been asked to work during the New Year holidays.
Passengers travelling with the elderly, the disabled and young children will wers will be guided to use priority channels.
Thai travellers will not be required to scan their fingerprints scanned for both inbound and outbound flightrs because the Immigration Bureau already had their data in its system.
Immigration officers will work with airlines to coordinate quick passage for travellers in danger of missing their flights.
Automatic channels will be operational for outbound travelers who have e-passports from about 70 countries. The measure started at Suvarnabhumi airport on Friday and outbound traffic has risen from 4,100 to 6,000 travellers per hour there.
Pol Maj Gen Choengron said that the peak time at Suvarnabhumi airport could see as many as 25 flights per hour with an influxes of passengers at immigration channels.
Immigration officers are trying to process each traveller within 45 seconds and a survey found that on average, travellers were queuing for 18-20 minutes, he said.
For outbound traffic at Suvarnabhumi airport, the commander suggested that passengers arrive at least three hours in advance to make sure they have time to pass procedures and not miss their flights.
