Suvarnabhumi Expands Automated Immigration Access

Suvarnabhumi Expands Automated Immigration Access for 31 More Nationalities

Suvarnabhumi Airport plans to allow travellers from 31 additional nationalities to use its automated immigration gates by the end of August, expanding an effort to reduce lengthy arrival queues. The airport handles as many as 190,000 passengers per day during peak periods, with immigration facing its heaviest traffic between 1 pm and 5 pm. Officials selected the additional nationalities based on factors including entry-refusal rates, passport rankings and security assessments. The expansion could make the system available to roughly 6.5 million more travellers as well as about 900,000 long-term visa holders, with authorities hoping automated gates will eventually process 53% of arrivals. Previous visitors whose biometric information is already registered will gain access first, while first-time arrivals will still need to visit a staffed immigration counter to record their biometrics.