Thai aviation safety downgrade 'may affect charter flights'

[webfact]

Thai Aviation Safety Downgrade 'May Affect Charter Flights'
By Khaosod English


Gen. Prayuth Chan-ocha speaking at the Government House on 19 June 2015.

BANGKOK — The director of a tourism trade federation in Thailand has warned that outbound charter flights may be affected by an international airline inspection agency's decision to downgrade Thailand for substandard safety protocols.

Suparerk Soorangura, chairman of the Thai Travel Agents Association (TTAA), said the "red flag" handed to Thailand by the UN's International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) yesterday may make it difficult for Thai airlines to secure licenses to operate charter flights in many countries.

"It will affect foreign aviation department's consideration of whether to allow Thai charter flights to enter their country," Suparerk said yesterday. "In the long run, it may affect both inbound and outbound tourism, and it may affect our goal of 2.3 trillion baht in tourism revenue that we planned for next year."

Suparerk added, "This announcement by the ICAO is not unexpected ... but it depends on each country, what they will do with this result. Some countries are not too strict. They may give Thailand some time."

He also told reporters that the effects of the downgrade are not yet clear because Thailand is still in its annual low season for tourism.

Full story: http://www.khaosodenglish.com/detail.php?newsid=1434700859


-- Khaosod English 2015-06-19

[webfact]

Min of Transport to roll out new measures in wake of ICAO downgrade

BANGKOK, 19 June 2015 (NNT) - The Ministry of Transport has insisted that measures to improve aviation standards will be implemented as planned, following a red flag from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) for failing to address safety concerns within 90 days.

The ICAO issued an alert on Thailand's aviation body in March, after a safety audit revealed that it failed to adequately oversee its airlines. The move led to a ban on new flights to China, Japan and South Korea.

Transport Minister ACM Prajin Juntong said Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-o-cha has been informed of the issue, and a series of solutions are being rolled out. The ministry is also implementing short-term and long-term measures, which include issuing new airline inspection manuals, hiring more qualified aviation personnel and installing cutting-edge technology to upgrade safety standards.

Once these plans are successfully executed, ICAO representatives will be invited to conduct further inspections.

Thai Airways also weighed in on the ICAO downgrade, saying the red flag will prevent the airline business from expanding and creates extra risks. It urged the government to address the problem as soon as possible.


-- NNT 2015-06-19

[Anthony5]

Once these plans are successfully executed, ICAO representatives will be invited to conduct further inspections.

That's a first, normally they will within a week from now start make announcements in the line of, ICAO should consider upgrade Thailand because we already placed an advertisement for hiring qualified personnel.

[Tatsujin]

"may" ... lol ... understatement of the year ... and later this year/next year they'll be blaming those horrible people outside of Thailand for being unfair on them for expecting decent safety standards and making them lose so much money.

[uptheos]

Yet Thai still charge way higher prices than anyone else for international travel, but they're always full

I guess the thinking is, if it's more expensive it must be better.

[impulse]

Yet Thai still charge way higher prices than anyone else for international travel, but they're always full

I guess the thinking is, if it's more expensive it must be better.

No, too many freeloaders per paying passenger.

[quandow]

And the torrential rains may cause flooding.

The fix for both situations (and many more that we're all aware of) is DO something, not just talk about it. Planes need fixin'? FIX them. Flooding problems? Hire some experts and perform the maintenance. 2nd highest road fatality rate IN THE WORLD?!? Get the BiB's off their behinds and enforce traffic regulations. And the list goes on and on and on . . .

This culture of "Mai pen rai" is taking you DOWN, Thailand!

[harada]

Yet Thai still charge way higher prices than anyone else for international travel, but they're always full

I guess the thinking is, if it's more expensive it must be better.

No, too many freeloaders per paying passenger.

Yes but to get rid of the freeloaders and the dead wood would mean losing face, which is the main reason why this mess can't be sorted out.

[Jimlove]

and the World could not stop laughing ....

[masquerade]

Suparerk added, "This announcement by the ICAO is not unexpected ... but it depends on each country, what they will do with this result. Some countries are not too strict. They may give Thailand some time."

Further to this, any death and injury would only be coincidental and little inconvenient, but hey, they are dispensable, we have plenty more. Not that it will cost us too much anyway as we haven't yet ratified the Montreal Convention on compensation for the victims of air disasters.

[jaiyen]

All they care about is the tourism figures. Bring in lots of Chinese who live in a dangerous country

and know less about safety than Thailand. It is so inconvenient that most of the world has Standards

that must be adhered to. Not only can it be unsafe in Thailand, it may be unsafe getting there !