Bangkok (VNA) - The Thai Transport Ministry is planning to use a facialrecognition system in five upcountry airports as part of its ambitious"smart airport" project to reduce overcrowding, increase safety andboost tourism.
The technology is expected to replaceinspections of passports and national identity cards, which becomes anincreasingly time-consuming procedure as the number of air passengers rises.
Currently, travellers may be requiredto show their ID cards or passports up to three times in one trip through anairport, said Deputy Transport Minister Thaworn Senneam.
But these repetitive tasks can bereduced to save time, if airports are equipped with the technology to identifyand verify people's faces.
The transport ministry first wants toinstall the technology at regional airports currently struggling to handle thelarge number of air passengers. Those include Krabi and Surat Thani airports inthe South, and Udon Thani, Ubon Ratchathani and Khon Kaen airports in theNortheast.
A working panel, consisting ofrepresentatives from the Department of Airports, the Royal Thai Police and theInterior Ministry will be set up to study this new identification system. Theyneed to discuss ways to sync their databases, which store information on Thaiand foreign travellers, in order to support the technology.
Earlier, the Thai Customs Department said that it willinstall 23 X-ray machines at the baggage carousels at Suvarnabhumi InternationalAirport, aiming at improving the efficiency of security checks of luggage ofinbound passengers and to prevent goods smuggling. The machines will beinstalled and put into operation in early 2020./.
The technology is expected to replaceinspections of passports and national identity cards, which becomes anincreasingly time-consuming procedure as the number of air passengers rises.
Currently, travellers may be requiredto show their ID cards or passports up to three times in one trip through anairport, said Deputy Transport Minister Thaworn Senneam.
But these repetitive tasks can bereduced to save time, if airports are equipped with the technology to identifyand verify people's faces.
The transport ministry first wants toinstall the technology at regional airports currently struggling to handle thelarge number of air passengers. Those include Krabi and Surat Thani airports inthe South, and Udon Thani, Ubon Ratchathani and Khon Kaen airports in theNortheast.
A working panel, consisting ofrepresentatives from the Department of Airports, the Royal Thai Police and theInterior Ministry will be set up to study this new identification system. Theyneed to discuss ways to sync their databases, which store information on Thaiand foreign travellers, in order to support the technology.
Earlier, the Thai Customs Department said that it willinstall 23 X-ray machines at the baggage carousels at Suvarnabhumi InternationalAirport, aiming at improving the efficiency of security checks of luggage ofinbound passengers and to prevent goods smuggling. The machines will beinstalled and put into operation in early 2020./.
VNA
