The new Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) may charge more fees to airlines and passengers to cover its management and training costs.
Director Chula Sukmanop said a 15-baht levy might be added to the airfare for each domestic or international trip. Carriers might also be asked to pay higher fees for licence applications and business operations.
The proceeds would help cover the management and training costs of CAAT staff, he told Thai media on Saturday.
"We have been transformed into an independent organisation, which means we are no longer financed by the state budget. We need to support ourselves," said Mr Chula. "In any case, we need to talk with airlines first before making the final decision."
The CAAT was created in response to concerns expressed by international bodies about inadequate safety regulation and oversight by the now-defunct Department of Civil Aviation. They also pointed out that the department had a conflict of interest in that it was both a regulator and the operator of 28 provincial airports. The airport operations were spun off in October to a separate Transport Ministry agency known as the Airports Department, of which Mr Chula is also the director-general.
On the regulatory front, the CAAT and its predecessor have faced numerous problems, chief among them the lack of qualified inspectors to ensure that the growing number of Thailand-based airlines meet international standards.
Authorities have complained for years about the lack of adequate government funding to offer competitive salaries to aviation safety professionals.
The shortcomings have led regulators from the United Nations and the US to downgrade the country's safety rankings, preventing locally based airlines from expanding routes and services. European authorities this week decided not to downgrade Thailand, citing strenuous efforts of the government to improve the situation.
As part of the solution to the longstanding problem, the government declared that the new CAAT would be an independent body so that it would have a free hand in management and could raise its own funds to meet the costs of what needs to be done.
For the short term, air force officers are also allowed to be transferred to the CAAT to help fill vacant positions. The regulator is also looking for foreign experts to help it overhaul local operations.
In a related development, Airports of Thailand (AoT) has started using an improved security screening system. The Advance Passenger Processing System (APPS) has been in operation at the six airports managed by AoT since Dec 1, with an additional 35-baht fee included in airfares to cover its costs.
The airports are Suvarnabhumi, Don Mueang, Phuket, Chiang Mai, Hat Yai and Mae Fah Luang in Chiang Rai province.
"The APPS system will start checking data from the time passengers check in by verifying them against the Immigration Department's database. If a passenger is on the blacklist, the system will inform him and authorities immediately," said AoT president Nitinai Sirismatthakarn.