Thai Civil Aviation chief assures high safety standard

[webfact]

Civil aviation chief assures high safety standard



BANGKOK: -- Department of Civil Aviation today commented on the possibility that the country’s air safety standard could be downgraded by the International Civil Aviation Organisation after Thailand failed to resolve its issues of concern.

Somchai Piputvat, director-general of the department, said in fact the department was in the process of following the recommendations by the ICAO.

ICAO has voiced concern about the country’s organization structure, insufficient of aviation personnel and low remuneration for staff.

He said ICAO would officially release a private report to Thailand on February 14 and officials would have 15 days to respond. The agency then will acknowledge the proposed solutions and, if Thailand fails to resolve issues of concern, ICAO would publish the matter on its public website at the end of May.

But no matter what happened, Mr Somchai said ICAO has no direct authority to ban Thai carriers from foreign airspace.

He said ICAO used to raise same issues of concern in 2011 but acknowledged that this could not be resolved speedily due to bureaucratic system..

He said ICAO might have reservations about air-safety standard in Thailand, but insisted that his department has high standards of aviation certification. He confirmed that all licensed carriers met the department’s standards.

Source: http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/civil-aviation-chief-assures-high-safety-standard


-- Thai PBS 2015-02-11

[zaphod reborn]

Low remuneration of staff? That can't be. Not in Thailand. If you feed them peanuts. . .

[recycler]

It's all in line, food safety, road safety, environmental safety, air safety, work safety, we are the HUB of safety here!

[Valentine]

His assurance is far from reassuring.

[AlQaholic]

His assurance is far from reassuring.

Especially considering the same issues was present in 2011 and nothing was done then.....

[thhMan]

Having the certification is one thing...

But in Thailand, permits/certification/drivers licence etc, can be purchased to circumvent rules..... and corruption in Thailand is not a secret

Edited February 11, 2015 by thhMan

[Orac]

Having the certification is one thing...

But in Thailand, things can be purchased to circumvent rules..... and corruption in Thailand is not a secret

The bp article seemed to say that the problem was the the people in Thailand doing the certification lacked the international certifications from icao to do it which, if correct and not mentioned in this article, is a huge issue.

[Strangebrew]

Look we have plan if Thai airline company has accident we take expected bribe make sure airline logo is covered up then we fake report showing that 1 either Thai soi dog caused accident or crazy farang was at fault. Because as the whole world knows Thailand is the Hub of safety and Thai's never cause accidents We obey all laws and rules.

[scorecard]

Perhaps the air chief might like to get heavy with at least two of the high profile budget carriers who, at the final boarding gate check usually check that the name on the ID card / passport is the same as the boarding pass but they don't heck that the photo on the ID card / passport is the same as the person wanting to board the flight.

I have asked many supervisors at the boarding gate why they don't check the photo, they claim everything from,' it's not required by the regulations' to 'photos are private and the boarding staff shouldn't look at the photo'. One girl told the Thai lady in front of me 'if you want the photo checked you have to check it yourself'.

A few weeks back AA announced that they are now checking passport numbers against an international data base, there was also mention that in the first 60 days they had discover 69 stolen or fake passports (being used for flights in Thailand), mostly stolen passports.

[Traveling Sailor]

"But no matter what happened, Mr Somchai said ICAO has no direct authority to ban Thai carriers from foreign airspace."

Very true Mr. Somchai. However, countries who honor and respect the ICAO, and abide by their rules, have a perfect right to deny Thai carriers from their air space. So, instead of blowing the usual hot air BS, why don't you do the right thing and address the issues with deeds?

[Evolare]

It's all in line, food safety, road safety, environmental safety, air safety, work safety, we are the HUB of safety here!

Safety first

[manhood]

At the very end Somchai Piputvat said: we stay how we are, we keep things fast , even we have no progress within couple of years and we wait up to Thai Airlines are banned from flyiing into other airports: So lets change nothing as we are the best!

[steveyinasia]

"But no matter what happened, Mr Somchai said ICAO has no direct authority to ban Thai carriers from foreign airspace."

Very true Mr. Somchai. However, countries who honor and respect the ICAO, and abide by their rules, have a perfect right to deny Thai carriers from their air space. So, instead of blowing the usual hot air BS, why don't you do the right thing and address the issues with deeds?

Typical head in the sand comment from another Mr Somchai(is that the same as Smith?). Happy with the inadequate Thai standards and ignore international standards as they are not Thai. Maybe when all Thai airlines are only allowed to fly on domestic routes will Mr Smith pull his head out of the sand.

[lostmebike]

His assurance is far from reassuring.

Agreed by kinda obvious really.

`Somchai Teflon` has obviously climbed the ladder by being able to defend everything, deny everything and upset absolutely nobody ... `smooth as silk

[rickirs]

Hopefully we'll know the specific of issues on February 14th. The ICAO is a highly credible agency of the United Nations. One of the standards that ICAO monitors is passport indentification for international flights. This may be an area that Thailand has been lax.

[outsider]

For sure!!! I am certain Thailand has very high aviation safety standards! It's only the ghosts, spirits and things that go bump at night that are conspiring against Thailand's 'high standards'.

[ExPratt]

It just shows the overall attitude to safety here if the National Airline wont act on recommendations/Instructions

I bet TAT have some figures for us to tell us it wont affect the 9 Billion Chinese tourists about to storm the beaches of Thailad

[MZurf]

His assurance is far from reassuring.

Agreed by kinda obvious really.

`Somchai Teflon` has obviously climbed the ladder by being able to defend everything, deny everything and upset absolutely nobody ... `smooth as silk

Defend anything, deny everything, upset no one and achieve nothing. Sounds like a well though out management plan to me!

[kannot]

Must piss em off something terrible not being able to control the outside world who have real standards.

[TallGuyJohninBKK]

Not a very re-assuring report regarding Thai aviation safety. But, nonetheless, pretty much what is to be expected here.

Hopefully ICAO carries forward and insists on real proof of compliance, not fake promises.

[Oxpilot]

"But no matter what happened, Mr Somchai said ICAO has no direct authority to ban Thai carriers from foreign airspace."

Very true Mr. Somchai. However, countries who honor and respect the ICAO, and abide by their rules, have a perfect right to deny Thai carriers from their air space. So, instead of blowing the usual hot air BS, why don't you do the right thing and address the issues with deeds?

I think if ICAO puts them on their "Black List" most First World countries will ban them. Individual Thai carriers have been banned by Australia, Netherlands and Britain.

[ableguy]

God help us.