Nok Air crisis a wake-up call for neglected aviation sector

It would be too easy to say that a strike by pilots was the main reason for the cancellation of flights. Surprisingly, it was revealed that there were only two pilots stopping work on that day. 

Was it a lack of pilots or perhaps a lack of crisis management that might better explain the situation? 

Work stoppage by only two pilots could not have resulted in nine flights being cancelled. 

Nok Air chief executive officer Patee Sarasin said recently there was a shortage of pilots. He explained that many were working hours in excess of the standard limits on flying. 

Nok Air’s abandonment of more than 1,000 passengers at Don Mueang Airport for 10 hours with no senior officials to take care of them can only be explained as a lack of crisis management. 

All fingers now seem to be pointing at fierce competition in the industry, caused by the rising number of low-cost airlines. 

Learning a lesson from the Nok Air fiasco, the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) recently ordered all 14 domestic airlines to submit contingency plans on managing crises in aviation operations, aviation safety, and computer and IT. 

Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith earlier suggested that the CAAT, as aviation regulator, should consider the number of pilots when permitting airlines to increase their number of flights. 

But that is not enough. In fact, the CAAT should constantly update its auditing of airlines’ status. How would it become known if the number of pilots shown during the audit process changed the day after permission was granted for more flights?

Nok Air’s flight cancellations also expose the gaping holes in how authorities are regulating air operators. Nok Air might be the weakest link among peers. In spite of low fuel prices, Nok Air posted a loss of more than Bt1 billion in 2015 while Bangkok Airways and Thai AirAsia each recored a net profit in excess of Bt1 billion in the same period.

“Fierce competition” could be the catalyst to push Nok Air to hit the jackpot in terms of pilot shortage. Meanwhile, the red flag for the country’s aviation safety audit standards in June last year by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) should be a wake-up call also for the Thai aviation regulator. This means airlines registered and certified by Thai aviation-related authorities will not be allowed to expand their destinations or frequency of flights and will be banned from flying to other countries if their aviation regulators follow the result of ICAO’s assessment. 

The US Federation Aviation Administration also downgraded the country’s aviation safety standard to category II status following the ICAO’s concerns in December last year while the European Aviation Safety Agency is in the process of examining the country, which it hopes to pass. 

Because of the ICAO’s red flag, the CAAT was set up, replacing the Department of Civil Aviation, to be responsible for regulating air operators for aviation operation and aviation safety standards as part of the country’s overhaul of aviation regulations to meet international standards after years of neglect.

For the red flag to be removed, the CAAT would need to recruit more than 500 experts in the next three years, a half of them expected to be transferred from existing relevant agencies, in a bid to expedite the air operation certificate recertification for 41 airlines. One of the important issues that the ICAO will consider is about rules on flight time and flight duty period limitations. 

The CAAT’s recertification time frame was delayed several times since the end of last year due to disruptions from being examined by international aviation agencies. In the meantime, the authority needs to help Nok Air restore passenger confidence before it harms the industry. Recently, Nok Air announced it would cancel more flights and would fly charter aircraft until the end of this month, after 20 flights were cancelled on Monday. 

So, this could be the light at the end of the tunnel to complete the recertification for all 41 airlines by the end of this year, implying that Thailand will have to bear the red flag at least until next year.