Thai Airways International (THAI) has obtained a third country operator certificate from the European Union (EU), effective on Dec 15, and secured its flights to 11 destinations there.
THAI president Charamporn Jotikasthira said officials of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) had checked the safety standard of the national airline on Nov 12 and 13 and that it had already categorised THAI as a third country operator (TCO).
The certification for THAI took effect on Dec 15 and means the airline can operate flights to countries in the EU for good, he said.
The EU started to issue TCO certification to non-EU airlines this year and any non-EU airlines without the TCO status could not operate flights to the EU from November next year onwards, Mr Charamporn said.
He assured that THAI had maintained its high standard and implemented its Safety Beyond Compliance project in May this year. The project was aimed at upgrading its safety standards to the highest international level and these were also based on the standard of EASA, he said.
THAI operates flights to 11 European destinations - Brussels, Copenhagen, Frankfurt, London, Milan, Munich, Oslo, Paris, Rome, Stockholm and Zurich.
