China Stops Thai Airlines from Flying New Routes

(Reuters) China has joined South Korea and Japan in stopping Thai airlines from flying new routes and charters because of safety concerns, Thai officials said on Monday.

The move will come as a blow to Thai carriers that have just started recovering from a poor 2014 in which political protests that slashed the number of tourists to Thailand.

Thailand's Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) has struggled to comply with the United Nation's International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards for aviation safety for a decade.

"The damage is that fewer Thai people are able to travel to Japan, fewer foreigners are going to come to Thailand during Songkran. That's where the impact is going to be," said Thai Prime Minister General Prayuth Chan-ocha, admitting that Thailand needs to fix the issue which stemmed from previous administrations before counting the losses.

The issue escalated last week after Japan imposes a pre-emptive action to ban new charter services by Thai-registered airlines due to concerns about the Thai department's ability to meet the standards.

Authorities in China rejected plans by Orient Thai Airlines and Sky View to open more flights to the country, while South Korea also rejected plans by long-haul low-cost carrier NokScoot and charter airline Asia Atlantic Airlines.

Transport Minister Air Chief Marshall Prajin Juntong pledged to take swift actions to improve the country's aviation safety standards.

"We will provide clarity on everything and kick off our actions within two months' time and all the remaining tasks to be completed by eight month," he told reporters on Monday.

The ministry will set up two committees to handle the issue, said Prajin, adding Thai authorities would join with airlines to ensure about the safety standards especially with China, South Korea and Australia.

The ICAO finding would not have an immediate impact, but the U.S. aviation safety body Federal Aviation Administration may use the finding to put Thailand into their watch list, said another official at the Transport Ministry.

The DPA's main role is to supervise aviation functions, grant licenses to airlines and provide several services at 28 provincial airports.

While the Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organization cannot "downgrade" states, its audits identify safety concerns that could lead countries to take actions such as banning flights.

"The audit revealed some safety concerns, primarily relating to air operator certification procedures," said ICAO spokesperson Anthony Philbin in an email.

Source: Reuters via cri

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