System Malfunction Blamed for Phuket Airport Immigration Gridlock

System Malfunction Blamed for Phuket Airport Immigration Gridlock

Immigration officials say long lines at Phuket International Airport were caused by a temporary system fault rather than any kind of paid fast-track arrangement. Authorities denied online claims that passengers could access a special lane for 200 baht, insisting no such scheme existed. According to officials, the disruption affected the immigration information system from 8.55 am to 1.40 pm on March 28. Officers then switched to offline procedures and simplified some outbound checks to move passengers through more quickly while keeping the process under supervision. The airport was dealing with 52 outbound flights and about 8,500 passengers during the slowdown, which officials say explains why queues spilled far beyond the immigration hall.