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thailand’s airline industry under scrutiny again
•The• announcement this week that sixteen Thai based airlines failed safety and related regulatory thailand
assessments conducted by the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT), requiring them to suspend operations until they get new Air Operator’s Certificates (AOCs), allied with the further news that twelve airlines will have their international flights terminated pending an International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) inspection, has dealt another blow to the reputation of Thailand’s airline businesses, already struggling because of higher fuel prices, lower tourist numbers, airport immigration problems, and previous safety concerns. The good news for most people is that the airlines involved are largely very small private charter or cargo enterprises, and that nine other airlines have passed the ICAO’s strict inspection regime, namely Thai Airways International, Bangkok Airways, Thai AirAsia, Thai AirAsia X, NokScoot, NokAir, Thai Smile Airways, Lion Air and Sabaidee or New Gen Airways., which comprise the airlines the vast majority of people would be using anyway. Most press reports have been reluctant to name either sets of airlines that have failed, probably due to concerns over the defamation laws in Thailand, and we share those concerns; it also has not been reported what the failures were and how serious they are, but the fact that the twelve airlines are being allowed to continue domestic flights either indicate relatively minor issues, or more worryingly that the financial position of these airlines is being put ahead of public safety. We would not like to speculate which is the case, but the CAAT is providing assistance to the airlines aimed at providing reparation for loss of income while waiting for the ICAO to complete their inspection, which include allowing increased domestic flights, direct sale of tickets to customers and negotiating with the Department of Airports Thailand and U-tapao airport for reductions of parking fees.