Originally Posted by
LTN Phobia
I suspect that the queues would be much worse without it.
I wish they had fast track facilities for J/F passengers.
In fact the automated entry systems that we give to Japanese nationals in Australia, and the UK (plus some others, maybe NZ do too?) should be reciprocated for those nationalities to reduce the queues.
There must be a fair few people now missing domestic connections because of being stuck in an immigration queue. Maybe it's time for airlines and tourist board to start campaigning for improvement. The more time people spend in queues, the less time they have to spend money there, too. In fact I've been robbed of shopping opportunities in Japan because of the time I spent stuck in the immigration queue quite a few times already.
The immigration authority has had quite a lift in the 2019 budget, so hopefully some of that goes in to improving the conditions in the airports as well.
They have been adding automated gates(not requiring pre registration) for Japanese citizens, hopefully that should start freeing up officers to reduce the lines for foreigners.
So far only F gets the fast lane in Narita. I guess since the airlines pay, they could decide to give it to J or certain elite levels as well.
As a resident in Japan, I have registered for automated passport control, mainly to avoid all the stamps, but also on exit the lines can be quite annoying. Though the additional automated lines for Japanese citizens here have helped a lot in reducing waiting time.