BANGKOK: -- The latest inspection of the Thai aviation safety standard by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has revealed that insufficient qualified manpower may be one of the country’s main drawbacks in delivering its aviation safety services up to international standards.
But Thai authorities say that this problem could be resolved.
Transport minister Air Chief Marshal Prajin Juntong revealed yesterday that a team of four FAA senior members arrived on July 13 to inspect aviation safety standards with particular focus on the two main Thai airlines that conduct flights into the USA namely, Thai Airways International and Bangkok Airways.
Inspection revealed that the Thai civil aviation is insufficiently staffed per FAA’s recommended industry standards and that staff were sometimes inappropriately assigned to aircraft types.
The second concern was that the operations check list is not strictly adhered to. And thirdly, safety checks were lacking mainly as a result of insufficient qualified personnel.
But ACM Prajin said Thai aviation authorities have already started to take up measures to solve the mentioned problems.
This is because the International Civil Aviation Organisation had previously inspected the safety standard which revealed similar results.
But he said full inspection report is expected to be released within 30 days where the country will be given 65 days to take corrective measures.
The minister admits that if Thailand is not able to resolve those problems highlighted by the FAA, the country’s aviation safety standard rating could be downgraded to a second class ranking which could affect the industry’s flights into the USA.
ACM Prajin also stated that he would have a clearer idea on the severity of the impact to the local industry on July 20 once he has read the full inspection report.
The FAA’s recent inspection prior to this year’s was conducted in 2008 where Thailand received a first class rating for excellence.
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