The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) has expressed that country will have “red flag” status lifted soon from The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
Since June 2015, the safety of Thai aviation was red flagged by UN’s aviation Watchdog. The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) is ongoing efforts to revoke the significant safety concerns raised by the aviation body.
CAAT director Chula Sukmanop said the office has corrected the flaws raised by the ICAO including amending related laws and regulations and granting Recertification of Air Operator Certificates (Re-AOC) to airlines.
Sukmanop informed that the Transport Ministry expects to receive unsanctioned results of the ICAO assessment on Sept 27. The official result is likely to be dispatched by a month later.
According to Mr. Chula, nine out of 21 airlines which operate international flights have been granted Re-AOC and the CAAT plans to complete the process of granting Re-AOC to the other 12 airlines by Jan 31 next year.
To restore Thailand’s aviation safety credential, the completion of the AOC is measured in the CAAT’s effort. The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) order giving the CAAT power to temporarily suspend international flights by the 12 airlines, he said the order is to protect the CAAT.
Government spokesman Sansern Kaewkamnerd said earlier the move was to accommodate the ICAO audit and assessment.
Previously, the ICAO lifted red flag from aviation industry of Nepal stating that the Civil Aviation Authority of Nepal (CAAN) was successful in resolving Significant Safety Concerns (SSC) related to dispatching Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC).
