Aviation authorities may allow Nok Air to boost the proportion of foreign pilots beyond the permitted 40% quota if the embattled airline feels it is necessary.
A lack of pilots has forced it to cancel some flights.
The go-ahead would be granted in a “lenient approach” to the pilot shortage that has recently affected all airlines, Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said on Friday.
Discussions on ways to solve the problem have extended to the idea of increasing the number of foreign pilots, a job normally reserved for Thais.
If Nok Air, which is now temporarily putting its passengers on charter flights of other airlines following its acute pilot shortage, is interested in taking on more foreign pilots, it can submit a request for consideration to the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT).
However, the airline must also propose a long-term plan on how to increase the number of Thai pilots, Mr Arkhom said.
Currently, the quota of foreign pilots allowed to work within Thailand is 40%. The idea of increasing this quota has provoked various reactions from both airline operators and aviation authorities.
Nok Air chief executive Patee Sarasin said yesterday the employment of foreign pilots on domestic routes is one measure to deal with the pilot shortage, but this does not mean Nok Air will hire an unlimited number of them.
“Everything we have done is in line with Thai regulations and laws,” insisted Mr Patee, referring to the quota ceiling.
CAAT chief Chula Sukmanop admitted that the job of a pilot, according to the Labour Ministry, is on a list of 39 jobs where Thai nationals are preferred in a range of careers from barbers and secretaries to certain fields of engineering.
The 40% pilot quota is set by the CAAT which aims to encourage airlines to employ more Thais as pilots, he said.
In the long term, Mr Arkhom said, Thailand needs to produce more pilots to better serve the aviation industry which has experienced tremendous growth, prompting many airlines to compete fiercely for pilots.
He has asked the Civil Aviation Training Centre to devise a growth plan and work with private universities to set a standardised curriculum.
The pilot shortage has emerged as a new headache for Thai aviation, especially after the Nok Air pilot strike on Feb 14 that left more than 3,000 of its passengers stranded.
The reason for the work stoppage
was that some pilots disagreed with Nok Air’s stricter auditing of aviation management.
The strike prompted the CAAT to conduct a one-month probe into an accusation that Nok Air pilots were forced to work beyond acceptable flying hours.
The problems for Nok Air escalated when earlier this week at least 17 pilots reportedly resigned. Mr Patee did not deny pilots had left, but he did not specify the number.
The airline is resolving the pilot shortage using charter flights, and this will last until March 10. It also recently hired 33 new pilots.
In fact, Mr Arkhom said, among the newcomers are pilots who previously left the company but decided to reapply. The change has increased the number of Nok Air pilots to 212.
Nok Air yesterday posted a net loss of 726 million baht for 2015, compared to a 472 million baht loss in 2014.