According to the Airport Authority of Thailand director Kirati Kitmanawat, passengers will no longer need to present identification when entering departure gates at Mae Fah Luang International Airport in Chiang Rai.

Passengers must only provide their physical ID once while checking in at the flight counter, using a facial recognition technology-based automated biometric identification system.

Director Kirati said the biometric identification system will be ready for domestic travelers on November 1 and international passengers on December 1 at six international airports in Thailand.

He said travelers must authorize access to their identification details while checking in at the airport’s counters or using the self-service kiosk to utilize the system.

Passengers will no longer need to physically present their passports and boarding permits as the system electronically gathers their biometric data and travel plans. Each registration is for only one journey, and the information is deleted.

The system will benefit six airports: Suvarnabhumi International Airport, Don Mueang International Airport, Chiang Mai International Airport, Chiang Rai Mae Fah Luang International Airport, Phuket International Airport, and Hat Yai International Airport.

According to Airports of Thailand, September and October airport passenger traffic is up about 20% compared to last year, and Mr. Kirati predicts that next year’s statistics will be even higher.