!
Latest updates
kiwi Guarantee Book now and get protection against cancelations that would wouldn't get if you booked direct
Chiang Mai's Food Odyssey: Street Eats to Gourmet Feasts
Bangkok Airways to Resurrect Vital Flight Routes to Northern Thailand
Thai Vietjet Air: Exclusive May Offers for FUN Rewards Members
Hua Hin Airport anticipates surge in international flights after expansion
No more flights to Mae Hong Son
Really Cool Airlines to launch in December (Really!)
6 Steps to Grabbing Cheap Flights - DomesticFlightsThailand
Getting Around Bangkok
Koh Lanta: A Hidden Treasure Near Krabi
Sea, Sand, and Surf in Thailand: Top 5 Spots
All news
More travel guides
Phuket Airport Immigration Denies Irregularities
8th Jul 2014
There has been persistent reports regarding the operation of express lanes at Phuket Airport by immigration officers who asked arriving tourists to use the facility for fast document processing.
The problem, however, with the facility is that it is not without a special fee.
Normally, document processing for arriving passengers on international flights is part of the standard operating procedure performed by the host country's immigration officers at the airport to see if their entry to the country is legal and, therefore, requires them (immigrations) to be always strict and never receive any form of bribe, be it money or in kind.
Reports said that some immigration counters are closed and instead, some immigration officers installed 'VIP' lanes alongside the regular counters to process documents at a faster manner. Immigration personnel were reportedly inviting arriving passengers to use the express lane for some amount.
The reports reached the office of Capt Somphong Narkthong of the Royal Thai Navy Third Area Command and summoned the immigration officials to shed light on the irregularities.
Watcharapol Kanjanakuntorn, the Airport Immigration Superintendent, however, denied the allegations but he said his office will comply what the Royal Army had ordered.
The Royal Army ordered that all 19 immigration counters should be manned during arrivals. If any of the counters are closed during international flight arrivals, the immigration officers need to write a report and explain the reasons.
The Superintendent also denied that he never heard his men collecting money from arriving tourists in exchange for such express lane operation at the airport.
He admitted though that his office used to have problems with their computer system aside from the shortage of personnel to man the counter. But he told the media recently that it was resolved already and they are now equipped to serve arriving passengers well.
Related News
Thai Vietjet Air: Exclusive May Offers for FUN Rewards Members
Hua Hin Airport anticipates surge in international flights after expansion
