Thai Airways allows illegal entry without passport

[Luma]

I returned yesterday (Friday) from Shittagong in Bangladesh on TG 310.

This flight goes Shittagong - Chiang Mai - Bangkok.

At Chiang Mai it stops over and picks up for an internal flight to Bangkok; consequently pulls into the domestic terminal at Don Muang. Passengers from Chiang Mai who have also exited the country to join international flights from Bangkok are also on this flight; they have a sticker on their clothing to so identify them.

International travellers from Shittagong are given a different sticker  by TG staff at Chiang Mai, where you all wait in the transit lounge, and do not go through immigration, if going on to Bangkok.

You can also disembark at Chiang Mai & go through the normal

immigration procedures, if this is what you need to do.

At the domestic terminal in Don Muang, the passengers with both types of stickers are herded together into a bus to be taken to immigration at the international terminal.  This bus departs from the domestic luggage pick up point on the ground floor.

Therefore, there is intermingling of both domestic and incoming/outgoing international travellers at the domestic luggage collection area.

The only identification the TG staff use to detect both types of international travellers is the adhesive sticker on your shirt., which peels off quite easily.  No count was done of the number of bus passengers and cross checked to a list. Both incoming and outgoing international passengers were on the same bus.

Now to my way of thinking, there is nothing to stop a person from removing either one of these stickers and exiting Don Muang via the domestic terminal exit.  Of course luggage is sent to the international area to be collected for passengers ex Shittagong, but with carry on only this should not present a problem.

Conversely, you could  "exit" Thailand at Chiang Mai, and disappear out the doors of the domestic terminal at Bangkok, if so disposed, with your passport stamped as leaving the country.  The only problem with this is that you would be a "no show" on the international leg of the flight.

I am amazed at this apparent breach of security for incoming

international passengers in Bangkok, (maybe someone can point out an error in my reasoning), particularly bearing in mind the fact that Bangladesh citizens have quite extensive travel and visa restrictions placed on them by Dubya since Sept. 11. There were quite a few of them on my flight.

Luma

(asfo-list)

[george]

Same for some international flights to Phuket, transferring in Bangkok.

International passengers get a "CIQ" transfer sticker in Bangkok. On arrival in Phuket two TG staff divides the passengers to international arrival (immigration) and domestic arrivals, looking bat the stickers only.

Amazing indeed! :cool: