Airports of Thailand beef up security

Airports of Thailand (AOT) will tighten security measures at all of the 6 airports under its management, in line with the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) airport code.

The 6 airports are: Suvarnabhumi; Don Mueang; Hat Yai; Phuket; Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai.

AoT director, Mekin Petplai, said additional regulations would be introduced to improve security.

AoT also warned staff to be alert and ensure that passenger safety procedures were up to international standards and complied with ICAO codes without exception.

“Surveillance cameras and their placement will be reviewed. They must also be monitored regularly.”

Airlines too will be told to improve the final check of boarding passes before passengers board aircraft.

The statements came in the wake of a security lapse at Hat Yai Airport involving a Nok Air flight, 5 April. A person boarded the aircraft without a boarding pass or identification and was not detected until just minutes before the aircraft was about to push-back from the gate.

The director said: “After the incident with a Nok Air flight, the security system has been reviewed.”

Hat Yai Airport instructed airlines to check boarding passes of passengers one more time before letting them enter the aircraft, bringing the number of ID checks to four.