FRIDAY, March 29, 2024
nationthailand

Aviation anxieties as verdict due

Aviation anxieties as verdict due

Prayut bares his concerns but senior airline executives believe Thailand will pass safety inspection

PRIME MINISTER Prayut Chan-o-cha has expressed concern over the possible outcome of the European Aviation Safety Agency’s (EASA) evaluation of Thai-registered airlines, which is due to be announced today, even though senior airline executives are confident of passing the latest safety inspection.
“I’m worried. It’s not up to us. It’s up to the evaluators,” he said, adding that there were many problems affecting the country’s aviation-safety system, which largely resulted from the fast-growing number of airlines registered in Thailand following the tourism boom of recent years.
 
Hiring of foreigners
Deputy PM Prawit Wongsuwan said the government would speed up the hiring of foreign aviation-safety experts to help overhaul the overall safety system, which had to meet the standards set by international agencies such as EASA and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) in the US.
Senior executives of national-flag carrier Thai Airways International (THAI) and privately owned chartered airline MJets have expressed confidence that they will be given the green light to continue operating into Europe when EASA announces its evaluation results today.
In fact, THAI passed an EASA safety check in June this year and recently invited the agency to inspect the airline’s safety system again, so executives of the national flag carrier, who asked not to be named, are positive it will not be banned from European airspace.
At present, tourist destinations in Thailand are popular among European holidaymakers, accounting for 25 per cent of the 25 million visitors to Thailand last year.
Besides its findings on Thai-registered airlines, EASA is also expected to announce the results of its latest review of aviation safety concerning other Southeast Asia-registered carriers.
EASA conducts aviation-safety investigations twice a year, in June and December.
A senior THAI executive said the airline had nothing to worry about because it had been maintaining high safety standards to comply with Europe’s requirements.
The source said that if EASA gave the green light today, THAI should continue operating into 11 destinations in the region.
On the other hand, the airline has also prepared contingency measures to cope with a negative evaluation result, he added.
 
‘THAI unlikely to be banned’
Another executive at the airline said it was unlikely THAI would |be banned by EASA, as many passengers from Europe planned to travel to Thailand during the current high season, which lasts until February.
“THAI is confident of being cleared by EASA to operate into the region [Europe] as a third-country operator,” the source said.
At MJets, an executive who asked not to be named said the airline had also asked EASA to audit its safety standards, so it was also confident of getting a pass. 
Chula Sukmanop, director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand, said that even if EASA’s announcement were to be negative in respect of one or both of the Thai airlines, it could differ in nature from that issued by the US FAA, which downgraded Thailand’s aviation standard from category 1 to category 2, meaning Thai airlines cannot add new destinations or change aircraft when flying to the US.
So far, the FAA announcement has not affected any of the Kingdom’s carriers, as none currently operate to the US.
The Thai national carrier ceased its operations to North America on October 25.
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