Upon check in we were ordered to download a Thai Airports AOT tracking app and complete a T8 form online. All inbound travelers needed to do this regardless of nationality or country of debarkation.
Needless to say this was an arduous procedure, the app is over 100Mb and took 20 minutes to download on airport wifi. The app insisted on turning on location (GPS) and bluetooth before it proceeded.
Then there was a complex registration process with menus that simply did not function on modern smartphones (two of us tried it). After that you get to the T8 section where it asks pretty much the same questions as the arrival card plus something about showing any symptoms which nobody in their right mind will admit to. Upon completion, which took over an hour for two of us, the app said this must be presented at immigration on arrival.
The plane (Thai Lion Air) was delayed as usual even though there were only about 30 passengers on the 737-900.
We landed in Don Meuang at about 8pm last night. The first thing was a walk past what I imagine was a thermal imaging camera to detect body temperatures, it was manned by two teenage girls playing with their phones. Popping a Tiffy pill before landing would have dropped anyone's body temp a degree or so if it was high.
Immigration was empty as expected but they still expect you to do the biometric finger scan which a thousand other people have touched, and offered no hand sanitation facilities (I had some with me). The immigration officer was an angry middle aged woman that literally threw my passport back at me after stamping it when she realised I had a non-imm visa. No mention of the AOT app, or where we'd come from, or quarantine procedures, and certainly no Thai smiles - it was all frowns and scowls at the white devils.
There was nobody in customs at all, which was lucky as I had three bottles of rum in the bag. The arrivals area was a ghost town, I grabbed a taxi, disabling the phone before we hit the first set of traffic lights.
It was the easiest and fastest airport process I've ever done.
This article states that things may get tougher from the weekend and health insurance is required for several nations including the US, UK, Switzerland, Sweden, Japan, Iran, South Korea, China, Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Netherlands, Denmark and Norway.
https://www.thaiexaminer.com/thai-news- ... countries/"This will mean that from Saturday, anyone boarding these flights must present to their airline confirmation of health insurance specifically covering the Covid 19 infection for up to $100,000 in addition to the appropriate medical certificate.
From Sunday, all travellers, regardless of where the flight departs, will be required to provide a medical certificate issued within 72 hours stating that they are healthy and specifically free from the virus. The health insurance requirement also applies."
Now embarking on my two weeks quarantine with several bottles of rum and a bunch of new games for the Xbox!
