The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) will today begin a three-day inspection of Thai aviation safety standards.
The FAA gave Thailand 65 days to address shortcomings in its aviation safety standards after a July audit, warning it would face a downgrade if it failed to meet the deadline.
Louis Moser, chairman of the Airline Operators Committee (AOC), said the audit by the US aviation regulator would have a big impact on the industry's credibility in the wake of the red flag alert by the International Civil Aviation Organisation in June.
The AOC is a coalition of 86 international airlines and 26 aviation service providers operating at Suvarnabhumi airport.
"There is no Thai-registered airline operating direct flights to the US, so an FAA downgrade won't hurt the business, but it will affect credibility," he said.
Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith said yesterday aviation authorities were ready for the inspection, which will involve 35 flaws raised during the previous audit.
The Royal Thai Air Force has been working to address the problems related to air safety inspection staff shortages, he said.
A source at the Transport Ministry said that among the 35 issues raised by the FAA was a lack of qualified staff to carry out air safety inspections, and a lack of a formal process in evaluating staff efficiency.