Thailand aviation sector is delighted to get rid of red flag issued by International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) over various safety issues. ICAO after analyzing the safety progress made by Thai aviation over the past three years has finally lifted the red flag.
Chula Sukmanop, director-general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) Office, said ICAO officials had inspected the Thai aviation regulatory system from September 20-27 and approved a total of 33 measures that tackled previously expressed safety and other concerns.
ICAO inspection team was satisfied with the progress of Thai aviation and informed CAAT that the report will be dispatched shortly. Currently, only five countries have been red flagged by ICAO on its official website–Djibouti, Eritrea, Haiti, Kyrgyzstan and Malawi.
In case of Thailand, ICAO had red-flagged the country’s aviation sector in 2015 citing significant safety concerns on the regulatory system and other aspects of the aviation sector, prompting the government to implement multiple measures to tackle the issues over the past years.
Thai will now be allowed to expand their overseas services conveniently after the removal of the red flag. Moreover, there will be no any restrictions on frequency of flights and addition of new routes. The private sector can also apply for new aviation and related licenses from the Thai regulatory agency, which was previously restricted due to the country’s “red-flag” status.
Thai aviation has been escalating at an annual rate of 8 per cent over recent years and the removal of the red flag will now boost the Thai aviation sector. Thailand has been encountering increasing number of international tourists over the past several years.
Previously, a total of 10 Thai-registered airlines were also required to apply for new Air Operator’s Certificates (AOCs) with CAAT, a process expected to be completed around January next year so that they will be in compliance with the ICAO’s regulations.
