Heads up before your next flight out of Phuket. From 16 October, checked bags leaving Thai airports can be opened without the owner present.
Until now, if screening flagged something odd, you would be paged to come and unlock your bag. Under the new procedure, officers can open it themselves if they spot something suspicious, prohibited or unsafe. It applies at all Thai airports, including Bangkok's two. The reporting says bags will not be opened as a matter of course, so most of us will see no change. Inspections happen in a designated area, are video recorded, and you should be told afterwards if your bag was opened.
One honest caveat: this comes from a travel news site citing the Civil Aviation Authority and Tourism Authority of Thailand. Check your airline or the authority's notices for the official wording.
So what do you actually do differently?
- Keep valuables in your carry-on. Laptop, passport, hard drives, medication, anything you cannot replace. - Power banks stay in hand luggage. That was already the rule, and it is the easiest way to get a bag flagged. - Use an internationally recognised lock if you lock your bag at all. A cheap lock that has to be cut off is a worse outcome than an unlocked zip. - Check your airline's prohibited items list and the rules at any transit airport, since they vary. - Know where to complain if something goes wrong: your airline first, then the Civil Aviation Authority.
For long-stay nomads who fly in and out regularly, this is a small habit change that costs nothing. Pack the stuff you cannot afford to lose where you can see it.
Travelling soon? Ask in The Digi Yesmads. Someone has probably flown your route last week.