Airports of Thailand to Introduce Background Screening Check at Six Airports

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BANGKOK – Airports of Thailand (AoT) is introducing a new passenger system to check passengers as of December 1st, 2015, beginning early December inbound and outbound passengers at the country’s six international airports have to pay 35 baht each for background screening check charge.

The system called the Advance Passenger Processing System (APPS) will boost airport security by screening each passenger more closely than the current system in use.

According to Bangkok Post, It allows customs officials, airport and airline staff and immigration police to obtain the profiles of passengers from their countries of origin.

They will be able to check if passengers are blacklisted or banned from leaving a country.

Authorities will share passenger information and ordinary passengers whose profiles are clean can pass immigration checks faster.

AoT says it will take about three months to introduce the system and another month for testing before putting it in use in December.

The APPS will be put in use in six international airports namely Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Mae Fa Luang in Chiang Rai, and Hat Yai.

The APPS fee will apply to international passengers arriving and departing from the airports, as well as transfer and transit passengers, he said.

Airlines will be responsible for collecting the 35 baht additional charge, which will be incorporated into the air ticket price, AoT chairman Nitinai Sirismatthakarn said.

However, the Airline Operations Committee (AOC) has complained that airlines aren’t ready for the change as they have already sold a number of advance international flight tickets.

It has urged the AoT to consider postponing the plan for three months from December to allow sufficient time for the airlines to prepare.