crazycrab955

1. He was never Prime Minister. Google is your friend.

2. What's your point?

Many of us have already explained that the boarding pass checks are for security purposes, and mandated by multiple government agencies. Would you prefer lax security and bribed officers at the airport, like we are surrounded by in SE Asia? That approach worked out really well in Sharm-el-Sheikh...

Swiss Tony

Well, I still don't understand why the passport was checked three times between entering the line for security at the gate, to getting into the gate lounge. That does smack of somewhat mindless efficiency, and unless you don't trust your own staff, there is no need to check at the start and the end of the same secure/isolated line - which is exactly what was happening.

invisible

If you are irritated about that, I'd suggest you not to got to Istanbul Ataturk Airport because my passport/BP was checked seven times before I was allowed to board flight to Chicago.

crazycrab955

Much of your perception is based upon a lack of understanding of passenger flows at Changi versus many other airports. If you are in transit at SIN, you do not clear security after disembarkation of your arriving flight. Also, security is gate-specific rather than centralised before immigration. So that means that some of the boarding pass/passport checks occur in different places and times relative to other airports.

First check (passport + boarding pass): actual security check at gate to determine identity match and whether you are at the correct gate. This is exactly the same purpose as the "TSA" check before a security checkpoint at a US airport. Please remember, you have not yet gone through security prior to this point, whether you are in transit or simply departing.

Second check (only BP, not passport): checked by the x-ray operators as you put carry-on items through the scanner. If you do not put anything through the scanner, you are not subject to this check.

Third check (passport and BP): actual check-in/boarding pass scan by airline gate agents as you enter the gate lounge, for purposes of "boarding" the aircraft. Unlike other airports, you do not scan your boarding pass just before the aerobridge, as once you enter the gate lounge you have technically "boarded." There are a few exceptions (the multi-gate lounges in A and B of Terminal 3 come to mind), but generally this is how SIN is operated.

So, I would suggest to you that these checks are really no different or more than those in other airports. They just occur at slightly different times than in most other places, which is perhaps why you perceived them to be excessive.

I certainly don't consider that "mindless efficiency," which suggests rules for the sake of rules, and/or robotic procedures without thought or consideration. I consider it prudent, and most likely in accordance with ICAO/IATA rules as well as Singapore government mandates. And, unlike the aggressive/obnoxious security personnel one typically encounters at many other airports, in this case you are usually greeted with a smile and pleasant demeanour.

Swiss Tony

erm, thanks but I do understand the difference

Your narrative below misses the fact that BP & passport were checked leaving the premium check in zone *before* we got to the immigration agent, and the fact that at the end of the line before security, the passport was checked against the BP. 1) this had already been done at the start of the fenced off part of the queue.

As for what happened at LHR the other day, passport checked at check-in & BP issued, BP checked ahead of security (to make sure you have a valid BP) then passport and BP checked as you pass the agent at the gate.

The airside security check should add one step to the process and emigration screening a second step, but there are too many needless steps in the chain.

nanyang

I think we might have a misunderstanding here. You do not need to present your passport when you go airside. The security staff will only need to see that you have a boarding pass.

No doubt many people hold both their passport and BP, and hand them both to the staff before immigration. However, this does not mean that they are checking passports.

Doc Savage

If they think they need to check 7 times, it is indeed an obsession.

nanyang

As a foreigner living in Singapore, I've got to admit that I admire how things are done in this country in general and the efficiency of Changi airport in particular.

Ryvyan

At SIN, passport + BP check happens at:
1: departure area before entering secured area
2: immigration agent
3: gate then security (no double-checking?)
4: airline scan to enter gate lounge
5: at aircraft entrance (not necessary if you remember your seat assignment for some airlines even, but it's usually in my pocket)

I never got the check at bag scan and after bag scan? Maybe it's a one-off?

RobOnLI

The post needs a little editing because passport + BP are not checked at all 5 steps.

1: departure area before entering secured area (only BP is checked here unless you are using a mobile boarding pass. If you're using a mobile boarding pass then passport check is required).
2: immigration agent (both passport & BP)
3a: Entrance to gate area (both passport & BP)
3b: X-ray machine (only BP)
4: airline scan to enter gate lounge (both passport & BP)
5: at aircraft entrance (not necessary if you remember your seat assignment for some airlines even, but it's usually in my pocket)

Changi is efficient. There do check BPs frequently but that's because of the way the airport is laid out as others have already mentioned. I love Changi Airport and still believe it's one of the best in the world. It also helps that I'm an expat living here and get to use the airport 4-8x a month.

-RM

shuigao

For what it's worth, I do wonder what's the value-add for checking passport/boarding pass twice at outgoing immigration if you use the autogates.

1. There's a check + manual scan of BP + Passport before you're allowed to enter departure hall (OK)
2. There's a biometric check of passport + thumbprint at the autogate (OK)
3. Right after the autogate, an officer does another manual check of BP + Passport ... surely this step is unnecessary?

SQTraveller

People would be complaining if someone who wasn't supposed to be there, somehow made it on board a plane.

Reds2011

True. I doubt that the serial offending grandmother in the US who regularly gets onto flights without a BP would have any luck in SIN. Great airport.

Yark Hoo

Better to bring along my birth certificate just in case