Singapore will order airlines worldwide to prohibit undesirable passengers from boarding flights to the city-state from Jan 30 under a new policy to boost security.
The Singapore Immigration & Checkpoints Authority (ICA) said no-boarding directives would be enforced for all airlines flying to the country to prevent people who fail to meet requirements or “undesirable immigrants” from boarding planes, reports Bangkok Post.
Travellers are normally denied entry to a country by immigration authorities after they arrive at a port of entry.
The ICA said the new rule is a step forward as it blocks people deemed threats to the country from reaching Singapore. “This strengthens Singapore’s border security by keeping potential threats from reaching our shores in the first place,” it said.
Singapore requires all travellers to obtain an e-arrival card within three days of their planned visit. The agency will screen travellers using arrival card information and airline passenger manifests. It will then notify the operators about persons not allowed to enter Singapore and order the airlines not to permit them to fly.
Travellers banned by airlines will be required to contact the ICA via its Facebook page to seek approval for entry before arranging a new flight, it added.
Airlines failing to follow the new directive would be fined up to Scopy00,000 (2.4 million baht) and/or sentenced up to six months in jail, the agency warned.
Thai Airways International, Thai VietJet, Thai AirAsia, Bangkok Airways and Thai Lion Air are among Thailand-based airlines flying directly between Bangkok and Singapore.
The city-state has positioned itself as the financial, convention and entertainment hub in the region.
Singapore received about 360,000 Thai visitors from January to November last year, according to the latest statistics provided by the Singapore Tourism Board. Chinese tourists topped foreign arrivals at almost 3 million, followed by 2.2 million Indonesians.