Having a powerful Malaysian passport comes with plenty of perks, but for avid travellers who love collecting physical souvenirs of their journeys, there is one major downside to modern airport automation.
In a viral post on Threads, Malaysian traveller @tsaqeif sparked a relatable conversation among frequent flyers after pointing out the bittersweet trade-off of holding a strong passport in the age of digital immigration gates.
“Advantage of a strong passport: You can use the autogate when entering certain countries. Disadvantage when using the autogate: You don’t get that country’s immigration stamp in your passport,” he wrote in his post.
Forced to use the autogate while travelling in Indonesia
Speaking to WORLD OF BUZZ, the user shared his recent experience while passing through an airport in Indonesia, where he went straight through the automated immigration gates without coming face-to-face with an immigration officer.
“Honestly, I’d rather queue at the manual counter just to get that stamp, but it was reserved for senior citizens, so I had no choice but to use the autogate,” Tsaqeif told WORLD OF BUZZ.
He noted that the trend is rapidly spreading worldwide, with friends who travelled to Europe reporting similar automated experiences across major airports. He then said that passport stamps may eventually disappear as more countries adopt autogates, adding that collecting stamps is part of the fun of travelling and it would be sad to see the tradition go.
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Hope for a hybrid feature to keep the tradition alive
While acknowledging that autogates have made airport arrivals and departures faster and more convenient for international travellers, Tsaqeif suggested a creative way to balance efficiency with nostalgia.
“I think autogates have made immigration much faster and more convenient, to be honest. But I hope they can add a feature that lets travellers stamp their passports after passing through.
“Passport stamps are a classic part of travelling, and having them in our passports gives us something special to look back on and remember the places we’ve visited. I hope we can keep that tradition alive even as technology improves.” he said.
Do you prefer the speed of airport autogates, or do you miss getting ink stamps stamped into your passport? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!
