Local officials have yet to publicly recognise whether the same system outage also caused delays at Phuket International Airport, despite a video sent to The Phuket News showing similar long delays at Phuket airport at the same time.
Pol Maj Gen Choengron Rimpadee, commander of immigration officers at Suvarnabhumi Airport, said the system was currently undergoing repairs, causing delays at the immigration counters, reported Thai News Agency (TNA), operated by Thai state-owned broadcaster MCOT.
This, in turn, extended the time required for the processing of passport checks from the usual 45 seconds per person to over one minute, said the report.
The malfunction primarily impacted the automated channels for passport checks, leading to severe congestion during peak flight hours, particularly for outbound passengers. The situation escalated quickly, resulting in long queues extending to the baggage inspection points.
“The Immigration Technology Center, overseeing the affected technology system has expedited the resolution. Simultaneously, Suvarnabhumi Airport’s immigration checkpoints took immediate action according to their contingency plans, resorting to manual checks conducted by immigration officers and utilizing the airport’s application to identify individuals with potential issues such as warrants or overstays,” state-run TNA reported.