Phuket airport readies to roll out COVID-19 entry requirements

PHUKET: Officers at Phuket International Airport today held a series of urgent meetings ahead of implementing the new requirements to be applied to people arriving in the country to help prevent the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus.

CoronavirusCOVID-19

By The Phuket News

Thursday 12 March 2020, 05:52PM

Areas at Phuket airport where passengers will have their details checked were bring prepared today. Photo: AoT Phuket

Areas at Phuket airport where passengers will have their details checked were bring prepared today. Photo: AoT Phuket

Areas at Phuket airport where passengers will have their details checked were bring prepared today. Photo: AoT Phuket

All passengers must provide personal and travel details via an app or by paper form before they will be allowed to enter the country. Image: AoT

Phuket International Airport General Manager Thanee Chuangchoo told The Phuket News today that the new requirements will be brought into effect at Phuket airport tomorrow (Mar 13).

Under the new requirements, all people arriving from the six identified risk areas – China, South Korea, Macau, Hong Kong, Italy and Iran – must present medical certificates in order to be allowed into the country.

Meanwhile, all international travellers arriving at Phuket airport will be required to provide personal and travel details so that health officials will be able to track down any potential infections.

An officer at the Phuket Airport Health Control Division explained that after passengers disembark, they will have their body temperatures checked as usual and then be asked to move to an area set up just before the Immigration counters where the medical history checks will be made.

“We will check that all people arriving from the six risk areas of China, South Korea, Macau, Hong Kong, Italy and Iran have valid medical certificates,” the officer said.

The medical certificates must confirm that the holder is not infected with COVID-19 and must be issued by a hospital, the officer added.

At the same area in the airport, officers will check that each passenger has entered their medical history in a “T.8” form by using the “AOT Airports” app for mobile phones.

The AOT Airports app is available for download at the App Store (click here) and on Google Play (click here).

“Travellers must provide personal details such as their nationality, age and career as well as how long they will be staying in Thailand and where they will be staying,” the officer said.

The form also requires each traveller to provide their passport details and travel flight details, including their seat number on their flight, as well as the countries visited during the 14 days before arriving in Thailand and any health issues experienced in the two weeks before arriving.

Any persons not carrying a mobile phone with them will be able to complete a paper version of the T.8 form, Airport Director Mr Thanee confirmed.

Passengers who refuse to complete the form adequately will not be allowed to enter the country.

Any persons arriving from any of the six risk areas who fail to present a valid medical certificate also will not be allowed to enter the country, Mr Thanee confirmed.

Asked whether the medical certificate requirement applied to travellers who only transited via any of the six risk areas, Mr Thanee said, “All transit [passengers] from risk countries also must have certificate.

Asked how that was possible while the passengers were in transit, Mr Thanee replied, “That is the passenger’s responsibility. My responsibility is to protect against the spread of the virus.”