Transport and broadcast regulators have launched a joint offensive to shut down illegal community radio stations broadcasting on frequencies that could endanger airline travellers.
The Transport Ministry and the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission on Monday signed an agreement to track down and turn off pirate stations that disrupt communications between pilots and air-traffic controllers.
"The issue is high on the national agenda and must be solved immediately to protect the lives and property of air passengers," Transport Minister Prajin Juntong said.
NBTC secretary-general Takorn Tantasith said the commission is targeting stations that broadcast on nonstandard frequencies, which also can interfere with signals put out by automated navigational beacons.
The NBTC requires community radio broadcasters to apply for transmission licences and limit the height of antennas to 30 metres.
The agency is installing equipment to detect off-standard radio transmissions, Mr Takorn said.
"We have invested about 10 million baht to install 3,000 devices nationwide to detect frequencies of illegal community radio stations. The installation should be finished in 5-6 months and then the countrywide surveillance will be 24 hours a day," he said.
Frequencies from pirate community radio stations were a new kind of threat to aviation because they disrupt not only radio frequencies used for air-traffic control, but also aids, said Sarinee Sangprasit, president of Aeronautical Radio of Thailand (Aerothai).
"They affect directional buoys and alignment beacons for runways and may cause mistakes during takeoffs and landings. That could result in severe accidents unless the problem is solved," she said.
Tinnagorn Choowong, Aerothai's vice president for air-traffic management, said the disruption of navigational communications might distort data about altitudes, clearances between aircraft and runways, and landing directions that could cause airplanes to hit structures near airports or miss runways altogether.