AOT lifts new rule after chaos

AIRPORTS OF Thailand yesterday hastily called off its strict screening measures at Don Mueang International Airport, which it had just imposed on Friday, after they caused mayhem, with passengers languishing behind long queues and many almost missing their flights.

The revised rules required not only checked-in luggage but also carry-ons to be X-rayed before entering the departure area.
The aim was to prevent “unlawful interference action that may cause the delay of process” and to comply with the International Civil Aviation Organisation’s demand for Thailand to tighten up safety regulations or face bans on international flights.
Before, only loaded luggage was required to pass pre-check-in screening while carry-ons were scanned after passengers got their boarding passes.
The new rule was posted without prior notice on AOT’s website on Friday, along with an apology for “any inconvenience that may occur”, and was immediate implemented.
The airlines operating there complained that they did not have enough time to inform their passengers.

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Some passengers did not know about the new rule and put only their check-in luggage on the conveyor belt, so they had to walk back and pass their carry-on bags through the screening machine. This slowed down the process, as there were only a limited number of X-ray machines.
AOT’s statement issued yesterday after an urgent meeting said the new procedures had caused passenger inconvenience and congestion.
It said it would assign more staff to inspect passengers’ luggage. It asked for cooperation from passengers in not opening X-rayed baggage, otherwise the baggage would have to be rescanned.
It also emphasised that airline staff had to be strict in checking luggage to make sure that all pieces are X-rayed before loading into aircraft.
Earlier, the airlines, including Nok Air, Thai Lion Air and AirAsia, used Facebook to recommend that passengers arrive at the airport at least two or three hours prior to boarding time.
Worante Laprabang, a passenger, posted on Thai Smile’s Facebook page: “I’ve been there today, and the queue was very long.”
Two Nok Scoot passengers offered words of advice.
“For departure, it is crucial to spare some time. The arrival side has only one scanning machine, making the crowd extremely dense,” Koomtinee Boonprasert said.
“Spare some time, now the checking process for luggage is very slow.” Kakkanang Supasiripenpong said.
Before the rules were revoked, Charoen Wangananont, president of the Association of Thai Travel Agents, urged AOT to end the congestion at Don Mueang as soon as possible in order to reduce passengers’ worries and prevent any possibility of them not catching their flights.
AOT should have realised that such problems could occur, since passenger traffic has been surging for months, he said.
“Scanning luggage is not the big problem. The problem is due to the poor management of AOT. It should have prepared more measures to deal with this overload, but it didn’t,” he said.
AOT should learn from the Don Mueang case and be aware of similar problems that could arise at other airports such as Phuket and Chiang Mai, he said.
However, once the renovation of the second terminal at Don Mueang is completed and it is open for service, the congestion problem should ease, he said.
Pramookpisitt Achariyachai, president of Kata Group Resorts in Phuket, said all airports in the country should improve passenger facilitation and management, especially during the peak season, to avoid chaos.
Congestion always happens at Phuket International Airport in the high season.
However, this should not be problem any longer when the new terminal opens.