Transport Minister Arkom Termpitayapaisit has confirmed the readiness of Thai Airways International (THAI) for standard inspection by the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), which has delayed its planned inspection from last week to November.
Arkom was confident that the national flag carrier would pass the inspection without problems as all flights are basically checked after landing in Europe.
In a related report, the Royal Thai Government Gazette’s website on 11 Sept. published order no. 27/2015 of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) Chief, authorizing the Transport Minister to use the power under Article 44 of the interim constitution to accelerate the procedures to solve Thailand’s substandard aviation problems as identified by ICAO. The NCPO empowered the Transport Minister to undertake eight areas of improvement to make the Department of Civil Aviation meet the ICAO’s standard.
Earlier, the ICAO had identified numerous problems surrounding the Thai Department of Civil Aviation with Significant Safety Concerns (SSC). Arkom said if Thailand fails to solve those shortcomings in due course, it would have negative impacts on national security in general and derail the planned development of the Thai civil aviation to meet international standards.
