Writer: BOONSONG KOSITCHOTETHANA
Published: 9/09/2009 at 12:00 AM
Newspaper section: Business
Passing through security screening at Suvarnabhumi Airport will become speedier and more convenient while overall safety will improve under a new system, according to Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT).
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A woman puts her boots and belongings on trays for screening at Suvarnabhumi’s newly installed CSS station. The centralised security screening (CSS) system introduced on Monday is expected to expedite the passenger flow by four to five times compared with the previous arrangement.
The centralised security screening (CSS) system introduced on Monday is expected to expedite the passenger flow by four to five times compared with the previous arrangement.
The concept envisages clustering various checkpoints situated in several sites into one station with many security lanes, X-ray machines, metal detectors and bomb-detection equipment right after the passport control.
The CSS has halved the number of passenger security screening points to six - three at departure halls, two at international transit areas and one at the domestic-international transit point. It replaces the old system of checkpoints located at 12 concourses that were situated after the duty-free areas and near the boarding gates.
Suvarnabhumi airport general manager Nirandra Theeranartsin said the CSS would help passengers to better manage their time before boarding, instead of being subject to uncertainties as to how long screening would take.
“Having passed through the immigration and security first, passengers would have peace of mind and know how much time they can spend before entering the boarding gate,” he said.
The system will also help reduce flight delays resulting from unexpectedly long queues at passenger security screening points because passengers may spend too much time at the duty-free area, he added.
The airport’s two busiest CSS stations on the departure halls on the fourth floor of the terminal - west and east - each have six X-ray machines and metal detector arches. Each X-ray machine is manned by six inspectors.
The two main CSS stations can handle 2,000 passengers per hour.
However, passengers of some airlines are still subject to secondary screening before entering the boarding gates in compliance with the carriers’ own security standards. They include El Al Israel Airlines, United Airlines, Northwest Airlines, Qantas Airways, British Airways, Kuwait Airways and Indian carriers.
AoT has spent 10 million baht on the CSS stations including the installation of new surveillance cameras.
The basic security protocols including restrictions on the amount of liquids, gels and aerosol containers a passenger can carry in hand baggage remain unchanged.
Also unchanged are requirements for passengers to put their coats, jackets, belts, mobile phones, watches and metals through X-ray machines.
But passengers may be asked to take their shoes off to be scanned by X-ray machines, an added security step that was put in place as part of the introduction of CSS.
*Bron: Bangkok Post / www.bangkokpost.com *