The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) has finalised a plan to expedite the reissuing of Air Operator Certificates (Re-AOCs), an action it believes will encourage the UN aviation regulator to remove the "significant safety concerns" tag given to Thailand.
CAAT director Chula Sukmanop said the plan has been reviewed by a command centre to tackle aviation safety concerns and will be submitted to the cabinet for approval on Feb 23.
The command centre was set up in September last year by Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha in his capacity as head of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) to lead efforts in overcoming the problems in civil aviation.
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The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) "awarded" Thailand a red-flag warning to its country list last June 15.
A lack of qualified staff to issue AOCs to Thai-registered airlines is among the safety concerns raised by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) which issued a "red flag", indicating significant safety concerns, in June last year for Thailand's failure to meet its standards in regulating aviation businesses and granting AOCs.
The CAAT is pinning its hopes on a plan which outlines the steps and timeline for re-issuing AOCs to 28 airlines that operate international flights.
Under the plan, the reissuing of AOCs to 28 airlines is expected to be completed by November this year.
In December, Thai authorities will invite the ICAO to carry out an audit and assessment known as ICAO Coordinated Validation Mission (ICVM), which is expected to take place from December this year to March next year.
"Once an audit of corrective measures taken by Thailand is carried out, the country expects to see its red-flag tag removed by March or even earlier," he said.
According to Mr Chula, CAAT has decided to hire CAA International (CAAi), a globally recognised aviation consultancy and a wholly owned subsidiary of the UK Civil Aviation Authority, to provide training for personnel responsible for procedures in granting the AOCs and work with CAAT on the Re-AOCs.
However, the plan is being delayed to May from March because CAAT staff need further training to prepare for an inspection training to be with CAAi. The inspectors' main tasks are to conduct re-certification of licences granted to 28 Thailand-registered airlines that fly international routes and 13 domestic airline operators.
Under the ICAO's requirement, an inspector has to meet five core criteria and then undergo training in two courses -- Basic Inspector and Examiner.
The five criteria include holding an Air Transport Pilot licence, having a Medical Certificate Class 1, having a minimum of 5,000 pilot hours, having Type Rating certification (a regulating agency's certification of an airplane pilot to fly a certain type of aircraft) and consistency in flying.
Currently, a total of 17 out of 52 applicants fulfil the five criteria and are qualified to undergo the inspector training courses with CAAi. Of them, 14 are CAAT staff who were transferred from Thai Airways International and Nok Air and the other three are from the Royal Thai Air Force.
Mr Chula said once the plan is approved by the cabinet, CAAT will call a meeting with the airlines to inform them of steps and procedures so they can make preparations for inspections and re-issuance of the certificates. (Continued after the graphic)
According to Mr Chula, a total of 41 airlines in Thailand are divided into four groups. Of the four, the first three groups are 28 airlines that operate international flights. These three groups will undergo reissuance of AOCs during June-November. After the ICAO inspection, the reissuance of AOCs for the 13 domestic airlines will proceed, tentatively in April-September of next year.
"During the Re-AOC process, the airlines that fail the tests will not be allowed to operate international flights. Those who pass the tests are considered certified by CAAi," he said.
Air force commander ACM Treetod Sonjance, in his capacity as chairman of the command centre to solve aviation safety concerns, said efforts in tackling aviation safety deficiencies are falling into place.
"We have drawn up plans and set qualifications for people who will be solving the problems. It is a good start," Mr Treetod said. He said the command centre has set up five panels to fix and enhance safety standards in the aviation industry.
One of them is responsible for preparing the country for the ICAO's next round of inspections known as the Universal Security Audit Programme Continuous Monitoring Approach (USAP CMA), he said.
The ICAO's USAP CMA programme covers eight issues including laws on aviation safety, airport security protocol and personnel training. He said all 41 Thai-registered airlines are required to undergo inspection but the 28 that operate international flights are the priority.
