Thailand to review open sky policy
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Thailand is to review the open sky policy, eyeing to adopt conditional liberalisation.
Transport Minister ACM Prajin Juntong said Friday that the traffic required the management of flight frequency at airports and air traffic control.
The airspace starts to get congested, he said after a meeting with transport officials. If the situation remains this way, it might affect the quality of service and safety, he added.
Relevant departments are assigned to draft a new plan within September and the plan will be submitted to the Cabinet by the end of this year, he said.
Voradej Harnprasert, deputy permanent secretary for transport, said that the change has nothing to do with the safety concerns expressed by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) on airlines certified by Thai authorities. Instead, it concerns Thailand's economic development pace which must be in line with aviation safety control.
He noted that aviation routes and flight frequency would be adjusted, to ease traffic. He said that the policy would not affect airlines which are operating to and from Thailand.
Thailand has applied an open sky policy since 2001, leading to the expansion in the aviation industry as well as growth in tourist arrivals.
