Thai Government Answers Thailand Pass Concerns

According to a government spokesperson, fixes are ongoing to resolve technical issues that have affected the Thailand Pass system.  Thais and foreigners seeking to utilize the system have flooded social media with complaints. Many have expressed frustration with the time it took to acquire the QR code necessary for travel, while others claim they never got it at all.

According to the Bangkok Post, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has responded and ordered officials to repair the system, inaugurated amid much fanfare and promises of a more simplified application procedure.  According to government spokeswoman Thanakorn Wangboonkongchana, there are a variety of causes for the complaints about Thailand Pass. Surprisingly, they all seem to be instances of “operator error.”  According to him, some individuals have suffered delays in getting their QR code since the system cannot understand their vaccination documentation therefore, it needs manual checking, which slows down the process. In other instances, travelers have booked their first night in a hotel not affiliated with a hospital that does RT-PCR testing.

Thanakorn reported that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs collaborates with the Department of Disease Control and the  Digital Government Development Agency to address the system’s inadequacies.

Thailand Pass was introduced to replace the Certificate of Entry, which received the same criticism. The new Thailand Pass system permits travelers whose proof of vaccination can be verified via a QR code. To make this work, the country that issued the vaccination proof must have given Thai officials the public key required to view the document. According to Thanakorn, 30 countries have already done so, but the government intends to raise that number.

Once cleared, travelers will get a QR code that will inform airline check-in employees and other screening professionals that they have been granted permission to enter Thailand along with their negative PCR test. According to Thanakorn, verifying their proof of vaccination will take less than 3 days, down from 7.

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SOURCE: Bangkok Post