Starting today, international security screenings at Bangkok’s main Suvarnabhumi International Airport will start using full body scanners of the type used in the United States. Passengers have the option of using the new scanners or the old metal detectors, but the new technology is expected to speed up security screenings.
The new scanners are part of a major revamp of the immigration and screening process, which also includes automated immigration gates for Thai passport holders. As part of the changes, security screening has been moved to before immigration rather than after it. Part of the reasoning behind this is so that passengers carrying prohibited items can give them to friends or family rather than throwing them away.