Thai aviation must survive second ICAO safety audit

by DOMINIC LALK  

March 1st 2017

Print Friendly

Civil aviation standards and ethics have been thorns in the side of Thai Prime Minister, General Prayut Chan-o-cha, almost from day one of his successful military coup in 2014. Read More » Since then, the man in charge vowed to “swiftly solve” Thailand’s safety shortcomings and appointed three directors to turn the sector around.

Regrettably, none of the appointees tasked with restoring the country’s top safety rating have succeeded in eradicating the systemic deficiencies, sloth and indifference that plague Thailand’s air safety system.

The news that three of the kingdom’s airports – two of them serving international destinations – do not meet minimum international safety requirements raises serious questions about Thailand’s readiness for a scheduled re-audit that will be undertaken by the International Civil Aviation Authority (ICAO) in June.

The Ministry of Transport confirmed in January that three airports lacked proper X-ray equipment and would not have the facilities installed and fully working until October - at the earliest. The situation could lead to the international blacklisting of Udon Thani, Krabi and Surat Thani airports.

In particular, this would have a dire impact on Krabi in southern Thailand, which is experiencing double digit year-on-year passenger growth, fuelled by increasing arrivals from Europe and Russia. The airport receives regular flights from Finnair, Qatar Airways, China Eastern Airlines, its Shanghai Airlines subsidiary, Sichuan Airlines, Juneyao Airlines, Okay Airways, the AirAsia Group carriers, Tigerair and new carrier, New Gen Airways.

In February, the director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT), Chula Sukmanop, said one Thai airline was at risk of losing its air operator’s certificate (AOC), after sustained losses, and another carrier faced the same fate because its employees said they had not been paid for months. Orient Aviation has it on good authority the two airlines are City Airways and Jet Asia Airways.

Nine of the 23 Thai registered airlines, which account for more than 70% of all international flights out of the country, are poised to have their AOCs reissued before the ICAO safety experts assess Thai aviation’s operational issues, while the other 14 are expected to receive approval next January.

In ICAO’s initial audit last year, it scored Thailand as less than 50% compliant across all sectors of Thai aviation infrastructure and safety oversight. The operations sector was the worst performer with an ICAO score of 10.7% out of 100%.

The nine airlines expected to have their AOCs re-issued before June by the CAAT are Thai Airways International (THAI), Bangkok Airways, Thai AirAsia, Nok Air, K-Mile Air, Orient Thai Airlines, AirAsia X, NokScoot and Thai Smile. The AOC approvals will be submitted to ICAO before its re-audit said CAAT.

“We don’t have to wait for all 23 airlines to be granted AOCs. The ICAO’s inspection can commence after AOCs are issued to the first nine airlines. These carriers fly 70% of all international flights,” said CAAT’s Chula.

Re-issuing the AOCs involves five stages. Final approval is dependent on Chula. He must personally consider the findings of CAAT specialists in aviation operations, airworthiness, safety and carriage of dangerous goods. One of the issues that resulted in ICAO red flagging Thailand was a continuing shortage of qualified CAAT inspectors.

According to the CAAT, the two carriers – THAI and Thai AirAsia – are at the fourth stage of the process which involved specific aircraft inspections and performance field tests. The other six are in the third round. It is focused on documentation checks. Bangkok Airways received its AOC on February 27.

Thailand is one of eight countries marked with an ICAO red flag, which denotes “serious security concerns”, in particular oversight, transparency, training and understaffing. In December 2015, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) effectively barred Thai airlines from launching routes to the U.S. or code sharing with U.S. carriers. No Thai airlines are disqualified from flying to Europe according to the EU Air Safety List, updated in December.

THAI has had to put its plans for a return to the U.S. on hold. After dropping services to Los Angeles and New York, the Star Alliance founding member has told Orient Aviation it would like to return to North America with flights either to Seattle, San Francisco or Vancouver. The latter two are the more viable options, given the hub presence of Star fellows Air Canada and United Airlines.

Thai AirAsia X parent, Malaysia-based AirAsia X, has announced flights from Kuala Lumpur to Hawaii from June 28. Its Thai sibling is expected to follow suit. NokScoot also might be a candidate for U.S services.