Thailand applies auto checkout at Suvarnabhumi airport

Immigration Police Division 2 (international airports) commander Pol Gen Choengron Rimphadee said the new automatic channels are for passengers carrying e-passports, and complied with standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

Foreigners with ordinary passports, and children and the disabled, although holding e-passports, would still be required to go through the ordinary channels manned by officials.

Arriving passengers will still have to be checked by immigration officers, for security reasons, he added.

Despite the faster immigration process, the machines could still detect people wanted under arrest warrants, those banned from traveling abroad, and those who had overstayed their visas, he said.

Suvarnabhumi Airport started using 16 automatic channels for passport checks for out-bound travelers from 2012, but only for Thai nationals.

It takes only about 20 seconds to scan the face and fingerprints of each passenger. A channel manned by an immigration officer normally takes about 45 seconds.

At present Suvarnabhumi airport handles 50,000-60,000 out-bound passengers per day.