Travellers flying out of Thailand will soon be able to chuck their passports in their bags as they clear immigration, as the nation will be implementing facial recognition at six of its airports.

       The biometric identification system will be rolled out on Nov 1 for domestic passengers and on Dec 1 for international departures, said Airport Authority of Thailand director Kirati Kitmanawat, according to the Bangkok Post.

       There are two ways for travellers to go from the baggage drop to the boarding gate without passport checks and boarding passes.

       In the first way, people with biometric-enabled passports can allow the system to access their identification information when they check in at the counter via a boarding pass machine or self-check-in at the airport.

       Alternatively, passengers checking in online can select the airline they are flying with, select “enrolment” and scan the barcode from the boarding pass, then insert their passport or ID card and scan the face as the final step. It is not known yet if this applies for those without biometric-enabled passports.

       Both methods of registration store the passenger’s facial data and travel information.

       The six airports that will use the system are Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi International Airport and Don Mueang International Airport, Chiang Mai International Airport, Mae Fah Luang/Chiang Rai International Airport, Phuket International Airport, and Hat Yai International Airport.

       The past five check-in systems and machines have been updated to support the biometric system, which aims to meet travellers’ need for convenience and speed so they spend less time at each service point and more time shopping for duty-free products and having a meal, said Mr Kirati.

       He also said that air traffic volume at the six airports from October 2023 to September 2024 has risen almost 20 per cent.