Thailand
Myanmar: Special lanes for ASEAN at Yangon airport
Yangon International Airport is ready to welcome visitors from ASEAN countries with special lanes dedicated to them. Terminal 1 was opened after extension works which started last year were completed.
The three ASEAN lanes in the departure lounge are positioned at the right side of the counter and four counters at the arrival gate are in the centre; however, there aren’t many visitors as it is the beginning of the low season.
“We opened the ASEAN lane because of the new terminal. But it’s not a strict rule that they must follow that lane,” an immigration officer, who did not wish to be identified, from Yangon International Airport Terminal 1 told The Myanmar Times.
The ASEAN leaders adopted the ASEAN Community Vision 2025 with 290 action plans at the 27th ASEAN Summit in Kuala Lumpur in December. Member countries will be occupied trying to implement all of them in the next 10 years.
The ASEAN lane will be implemented at international airports in all member countries. Thailand was the first country to establish the ASEAN lane in 1995 for two and half years when it first chaired the 5th ASEAN Summit.
“Currently the ‘Foreigner’ counters are full of people so we moved them to other available counters. All this is for travelers to have more convenience within a short time,” he said.
There are rarely people at the departure gate at the new Terminal 1 as it is the beginning of the low season, so very few people are queuing in front of the ASEAN counter.
“We need to check visas if they queue in the ASEAN lane but it depends on the airport operators, because some people want to but some don’t. Also we intend to make airport operators aware of the objective of having a separate lane for ASEAN countries,” U Ye Htut Aung, deputy director general of the Department of Civil Aviation told The Myanmar Times.
Currently Myanmar has three international airports in Yangon, Mandalay and Nay Pyi Taw.
Only Yangon International Airport has an ASEAN lane.
Source: http://www.mmtimes.com/index.php/national-news/yangon/26083-special-lanes-for-asean-at-yangon-airport.html