Thai Immigration Bureau has increased the number of immigration officers at Suvarnabhumi Airport to cope with a rising number of passengers during the high season.
Bangkok Post reports that Pol Maj Gen. Choengron Rimphadee, the Bureau spokesman, said that arrivals of up to 3,000-4,000 passengers were reported every hour on Sunday between 1-5 pm.
He informed that the number of immigration staff was immediately increased so that travelers didn’t have to wait for over an hour in line. Immigration officers spent just 45 seconds checking necessary documents and recording biometrics for every passenger.
At the same time, he also expressed caution so that criminals don’t evade the attention of immigration officers.
“Immigration police must watch out for foreigners who may arrive in the guise of a tourist for criminal purposes, especially call scams or maybe to cause a disturbance during the coming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC),” said the Bureau spokesman.
Airports of Thailand (AOT) has increased the number of immigration booths from 92 to 119, and more immigration officers were put on duty starting Wednesday so that 6,500 passengers could be processed every hour without compromising on security. This is about a 1,000 more people compared to the previous capacity.
The country has been seeing an average of 45,000-50,000 foreigners visiting it everyday via land and air. Thailand has had 7 million tourists visit between January and the last week of October 2022 and they are expecting to clock at least 10 million tourists by the end of the year.
