reader Posted June 8 Posted June 8 NOTE — Think this is third time a similar announcement has been made by AOT in past year. From The Thaiger The new Automatic Channel for passport control at Suvarnabhumi Airport was personally tested by Wisanu Prasarttong-Osoth, chairman of Airports of Thailand (AOT), before its official launch yesterday. This system aims to ease congestion atimmigration checkpoints. Wisanu participated in a real-world test of the new automatic passport control system before heading to Malaysia on flight TG415. The new system is part of an initiative by AOT to support immigration officers at Suvarnabhumi Airport, addressing issues related to the old system that has been in use for over 15 years and only served Thai nationals. The outdated technology and a shortage of immigration staff have contributed to passenger congestion, negatively impacting Thailand’s tourism image. The government is keen on promoting Suvarnabhumi Airport as the country’s gateway, welcoming tourists and international investors. =========== Austrian Airlines to operate more flights to Bangkok Austrian Airlines, boasting a modern fleet of Airbus A320s, Boeing 767s, and Boeing 777s, has increased its weekly flights from Vienna to Bangkok to 13 flights. Brendan Shashoua, Lufthansa Group Senior Director Sales – Southeast Asia and the Pacific made the announcement. “Since 1988, Austrian Airlines has connected Vienna with the vibrant Thai capitalof Bangkok. With Thailand being a highly attractive destination for Europeans, we are responding to strong demand by increasing our weekly frequencies from Vienna from 7 to 13 flights. TMax and 10tazione 2 Quote
Keithambrose Posted June 10 Posted June 10 On 6/8/2024 at 1:41 PM, reader said: NOTE — Think this is third time a similar announcement has been made by AOT in past year. From The Thaiger The new Automatic Channel for passport control at Suvarnabhumi Airport was personally tested by Wisanu Prasarttong-Osoth, chairman of Airports of Thailand (AOT), before its official launch yesterday. This system aims to ease congestion atimmigration checkpoints. Wisanu participated in a real-world test of the new automatic passport control system before heading to Malaysia on flight TG415. The new system is part of an initiative by AOT to support immigration officers at Suvarnabhumi Airport, addressing issues related to the old system that has been in use for over 15 years and only served Thai nationals. The outdated technology and a shortage of immigration staff have contributed to passenger congestion, negatively impacting Thailand’s tourism image. The government is keen on promoting Suvarnabhumi Airport as the country’s gateway, welcoming tourists and international investors. =========== Austrian Airlines to operate more flights to Bangkok Austrian Airlines, boasting a modern fleet of Airbus A320s, Boeing 767s, and Boeing 777s, has increased its weekly flights from Vienna to Bangkok to 13 flights. Brendan Shashoua, Lufthansa Group Senior Director Sales – Southeast Asia and the Pacific made the announcement. “Since 1988, Austrian Airlines has connected Vienna with the vibrant Thai capitalof Bangkok. With Thailand being a highly attractive destination for Europeans, we are responding to strong demand by increasing our weekly frequencies from Vienna from 7 to 13 flights. An interesting piece of inaccurate self publicity. There is reference to Austrian Airlines 'modern fleet'. In fact they have one of the oldest fleets among European carriers, age 17.2 years. The average is around 11 years! TMax and 10tazione 2 Quote
Keithambrose Posted June 10 Posted June 10 Also, it would be good if the Automatic gates could be bought in for incoming pax. Say like Singapre or Australia. It seems unlikely, but with all this talk of increasing tourism, there could be chaos in the high season. I can use fast track, but that is likely to be inundated too! TMax 1 Quote
TMax Posted June 10 Posted June 10 1 minute ago, Keithambrose said: Also, it would be good if the Automatic gates could be bought in for incoming pax. Say like Singapre or Australia. That would be brilliant and I can see this happening more and more around the world but sadly I think places like Thailand and the Philippines will be left way behind everyone else, we can only live and hope though. reader 1 Quote
Keithambrose Posted June 10 Posted June 10 15 minutes ago, TMax said: That would be brilliant and I can see this happening more and more around the world but sadly I think places like Thailand and the Philippines will be left way behind everyone else, we can only live and hope though. Indeed, as usual there us a lot of positive talk, but that does not normally result in action! TMax 1 Quote
macaroni21 Posted June 11 Posted June 11 The thing about automation is that while it is possible (but not cheap) to buy/install it, the hard part is having the skills to maintain the hardware and software. That's the invisible difference between the West, China , Japan, Korea on one side and places like Thailand or Malaysia on the other side. TMax 1 Quote
Mavica Posted June 11 Posted June 11 Major international airports in Mexico have been using some e-Gates for passport scanning and a paper issued indicating the number of approved days for the stay (max. 180). thus far travelers with Canadian and/or USA passports can use the automated screening. Manned booths (staffed now mostly by soldiers) are available for anyone and permitted days of stay are hand-written onto the passports. TMax 1 Quote
