The current fiasco at Nok Air has opened a can of worms, showing chronic and significant problems that are tough to crack.
In the eyes of many airline professionals and leaders, the SET-listed budget carrier has already crumbled due to the scandal involving its disgruntled pilots that led to a mass cancellation of flights since Valentine's Day and left thousands of passengers in the lurch.
The resignation of 17 pilots that followed the Feb 14 work stoppage by about 10 pilots and Feb 25's announcement to extend the cancellation of the airline's own flights to March 10 from March 1 further showed the depth of the troubles at the airline.
The story so far is just the tip of the iceberg and there is no assurance that the situation will get better before it gets worse, according to industry executives with knowledge of Nok Air's operations who spoke on condition of anonymity.
Given the magnitude of the problems, further flight cancellations and pilots calling it quits cannot be ruled out as the airline's business takes a plunge due to a battered image in the eyes of consumers.
There is the issue of deep-rooted dissension between Nok Air management and many cockpit staff, charges of nepotism and questions about pilot loyalty to the organisation.
Pilot resignations at Nok Air are common because of the working environment, and airline executives say more could join the exodus at any time.
A similar episode occurred a few years ago when a dozen Nok Air pilots resigned en masse to join rival Thai Lion Air, an arm of Indonesia's Lion airline group, during its formation.
With a shortage caused by the fast expansion of the aviation industry in Thailand, pilots are in strong demand, affording them the opportunity for better pay and career advancement.
The rapid expansion of Nok Air services has reportedly led to its pilots secretly doing extra flight work in excess of legal limits -- an issue exposed by disgruntled pilots but denied by the airline.
There are just under 200 pilots working at Nok Air, considered too few for the scale of its operations.
In its 2015 financial report released last Friday, the airline acknowledged that the turnover of cockpit staff had exceeded the normal rate and went well beyond what the airline had expected.
If pilots are working beyond legal limits, an allegation now under scrutiny by the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand, Nok Air could be at risk for safety issues. That would further aggravate Thailand's aviation safety regime, which has been red-flagged by the International Civil Aviation Organization and the US Federal Aviation Administration.
Leadership at Nok Air is another key issue, as chief executive Patee Sarasin would need to become more actively involved in the day-to-day operation of the airline.
The war of words between Mr Patee and Nok Air Captain Sanit Khongphet, who was dismissed for his walkout, only added insult to injury.
Those words and confusing media statements regarding the troubles are also damaging the airline's reputation, making its recovery even harder.
Nok Air will need to come clean about any problems and devise a comprehensive corrective action to solve its problems.
What is immediately required is for Nok Air to scale down the business to match available cockpit manpower.
It must work to retain existing pilots while recruiting replacements and even sourcing them from overseas, including North America and Europe, where the supply of pilots is still plentiful.