The Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) is confident that five Thai airlines faulted by the Chinese aviation authority can solve their problems without risk of penalties being imposed.
The problems include maintenance, staffing and training issues, but the department's head insists they are "minor". DCA chief Somchai Phiphutthawat was speaking after a meeting with officials from the Chinese aviation authority Tuesday.
According to Mr Somchai, the Chinese officials said they detected some small problems, which are unlikely to affect aviation safety. The officials said they would inspect this week five Thai airlines which operate flights to China. They are Orient Thai Airlines, City Airways, R Airlines, NokScoot and Jet Asia Airways.
"Each airline will be notified of the audit result next week," Mr Somchai said.
The reported flaws include incomplete manuals on aircraft maintenance and flight operations, use of planes for more than 14 years, failure to comply with maintenance schedules, a shortage of personnel and a lack of training.
Mr Somchai said he was confident the airlines would be able to address these problems and that the Chinese authorities would not issue penalties.
He conceded, however, that if the airlines fail to tackle the problems in time, their flights to China may be suspended.
Speaking about the US Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) planned inspection of Thai aviation safety standards in mid-July, Mr Somchai said he was concerned because Thai authorities would still be drawing up aviation safety manuals around the time of the audit.
Improvements to aviation safety regulations and checks on air operators' certificates (AOC) granted to 28 carriers would not be complete by that time either, he said.
The government will do its utmost to address the issues, he said.
If the country fails the FAA's audit, Thai airlines risk being prohibited from increasing the frequency of their flights and from opening new routes to the US, Mr Somchai added.
Meanwhile, the Transport Ministry is making progress on the construction of the electric railway and is confident the Purple Line will be ready to open next year.
Deputy Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said he had asked Hiroto Izumi, special adviser to the Japanese prime minister, to ensure the company providing the trains, Japan Transport Engineering Co, delivers them punctually.
The Purple Line is scheduled to open in mid-2016.
The Japanese representative promised at Monday's meeting the first three trains would be delivered in October, Mr Arkhom said.
