Thailand Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin envisions the country as a regional aviation centre and one of the world’s top five cargo distribution hubs. During a live broadcast scheduled for Friday at 9.30am, the premier will elaborate on this ambitious plan on the government’s NBT television channel and various online and social media platforms. The news of this upcoming discourse was made public through PM Srettha’s Twitter account yesterday.
Post this announcement, Airports of Thailand (AoT) President Kerati Kijmanawat shared a sneak peek of the Ignite Thailand, Aviation Hub campaign. Kerati stated that AoT has already put forth the plan for the hub vision to PM Srettha. He added that the prime minister would reveal the key details of the plan today, reported Bangkok Post.
Kerati, addressing the Bangkok-born Srettha’s concerns about accelerating airport services in time for next month’s Songkran festival, stated that several measures have been implemented to ensure the quality and speed of airport services. During the 62 year old Thai prime minister’s recent visit to Suvarnabhumi Airport, he emphasised this matter.
Responding to this, Kerati announced the recruitment of an additional 800 airport personnel to aid security checks and assist passengers. These recruits will commence their duties in rotating shifts starting from March 30.
Furthermore, to manage rush-hour queues effectively at the nation’s primary air gateway, Thailand’s Immigration Bureau (IB) is expanding its workforce. The bureau has hired 200 extra immigration officers, who are set to start working today, at Division 2 situated at Suvarnabhumi airport, with an additional 400 officers joining later, as per Kerati.
He also unveiled plans to introduce 20 automatic passport-check channels, furnished with advanced technology, at both departure and arrivals halls from June 15. The remaining 60 channels are due to be installed by July 15. Kerati suggested the potential for a quicker pre-departure security check process if the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) approves AoT’s proposal to abolish time-consuming protocols such as mandatory shoe removal for passengers.
Samart Ratchapolsitte, the deputy leader of the Democrat Party, is urging the government to hasten the expansion plan for Suvarnabhumi Airport.
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