Plane parking sought in case of flight ban

Plane parking sought in case of flight ban

U-Tapao airport in Rayong province is designated for aircraft parking in the event that Thai-registered airlines face an international ban. (Photo by Boonsong Kositchotethana)
U-Tapao airport in Rayong province is designated for aircraft parking in the event that Thai-registered airlines face an international ban. (Photo by Boonsong Kositchotethana)

Airports of Thailand Plc (AoT) is looking for aircraft parking to cope with the worst-case scenario in which Thai flights may be banned in other skies due to safety concerns.

AoT president Nitinai Sirismatthakarn said on Wednesday that AoT had asked the air force, the Department of Civil Aviation and executives of U-Tapao airport to seek parking areas for aircraft in the event that Thai airlines could be banned in other countries.

The state enterprise move came after the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) issued a "red flag" downgrade of Thai aviation safety in June and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the United States ordered Thai aviation authorities to correct safety flaws by October.

"The request for area reservation does not mean that Thailand will face a flight ban. It is to prepare for the worst-case scenario in which there can be such a ban on Thailand and aircraft may not fly on some routes, and so many of them will be parked," Mr Nitinai said.

"If there is a ban, I believe that airlines will adjust their flight plans and operate on other unbanned routes," he said.

The management of U-Tapao airport in Rayong province arranged for 20 parking slots and AoT would find some space by itself for the purpose, the AoT president said.

AoT was also considering other solutions and preparing itself for ICAO's Universal Security Audit Programme in 2016, he said. 

The ICAO already conducted its Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) and doubted the standards of the Department of Civil Aviation for its air safety certification. On June 18, it red-flagged Thailand as the department could not correct shortcomings within a 90-day deadline.

On July 17 the FAA gave Thailand 65 days to address shortcomings found in its aviation safety standards. Its officials had assessed the operations of the department, Thai Airways International and Bangkok Airways in wake of the ICAO's findings.

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