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The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) has quietly put a cap on issuing new air operators certificates (AOCs) for start-up carriers as it trains more personnel to oversee regulation and enforcement of standards. CAAT has not publicly reported the moratorium on new AOCs, but an official with the agency, speaking to AIN on condition of anonymity, confirmed that no new certificates will be issued until the agency resolves a shortage of qualified inspectors and implements new procedures.
“Ovecoming these issues will play an important part in paving the way for Thailand's civil aviation safety to be elevated to Category 1 again,” the official said. In December 2015 the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration downgraded the country's civil avaition safety to Category 2 due to safety concerns.
This situation automatically bans Thai airlines from introducing new routes to the U.S. or increasing the frequency of existing ones. Currently no Thai carrier flies to the U.S. Flag carrier Thai Airways International (TAI) stopped operating the Bangkok-Los Angeles route in October 2015. U.S. airlines are also not allowed to code share with Thai carriers.
“Ovecoming these issues will play an important part in paving the way for Thailand's civil aviation safety to be elevated to Category 1 again,” the official said. In December 2015 the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration downgraded the country's civil avaition safety to Category 2 due to safety concerns.
This situation automatically bans Thai airlines from introducing new routes to the U.S. or increasing the frequency of existing ones. Currently no Thai carrier flies to the U.S. Flag carrier Thai Airways International (TAI) stopped operating the Bangkok-Los Angeles route in October 2015. U.S. airlines are also not allowed to code share with Thai carriers.