Speaking at a press conference held at Suvarnabhumi Airport yesterday (Mar 29), Pol Col Pongthorn Pongrachatanan, Deputy Commander and spokesperson for Immigration Division 2, said an investigation found the disruption was caused by delays in the immigration information system during a peak departure period.
The issue occurred on Saturday (Mar 28) between 8:55am and 1:40pm, forcing officers to switch to offline processing in line with standard operating procedures. Measures were introduced to streamline checks and maintain passenger flow under close supervision, Pol Col Pongthorn said.
During the disruption, 52 departing flights carrying around 8,500 passengers passed through the airport, far exceeding the immigration hall’s capacity of about 600 people. This led to severe congestion, with queues extending outside the terminal, he admitted.
Pol Col Pongthorn stressed the situation was due to system limitations and high passenger volume, not officer negligence.
Phuket Airport Immigration Superintendent Pol Col Rasarin Thiraphatthanakun deployed all available staff, with all 18 inspection lanes fully operational. Despite some equipment undergoing maintenance, officers continued processing passengers, with waiting times reported at up to 33 minutes, Pol Col Pongthorn noted
Normal operations resumed at 2pm once the system was restored, he said.
Pol Col Pongthorn said that Immigration Division 2 also rejected claims that officials opened special lanes in exchange for fees of B200, stating all procedures were conducted in accordance with regulations. Passengers witnessing any misconduct are urged to report it.
Contingency plans are in place for system failures and confirmed that automated border control (ABC) lanes are being installed to improve processing times in the near future, Pol Col Pongthorn said.
Pol Col Pongthorn apologised for the inconvenience and said the incident would be used to improve system coordination and service efficiency.