No, I think it is because the IOs have been suddenly asked to use more on the spot scrutiny of incoming travelers. So that's slowing things down. Like I said, for decades I've never had more than a word or two uttered to me by a Thai IO at the airport of arrival. The whole thing takes 30-40 seconds. But now, if they are expected to do what most western countries do - ask things like: "so you're from Canberra, why are you here? How long are you planning to stay, what do you do back in Australia for a living?" it ads another minute or so for each traveler. This is SOP in western countries at ports of entry, but in Thailand it was very, very rarely the case and only if they had real suspicion would they start asking Qs. Now it might be routine. But yes, they'll need to deal with the backlogs is creates.
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