The Thai aviation industry will hope to take off again after the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) lifts its "red flag" warning on Thailand.
take-off: CAAT director Chula Sukmanop says an announcement is imminent.
The ICAO has removed the red flag symbol from Thailand's listing on its website.
"The ICAO is expected to officially announce its audit results on Thailand next week," Chula Sukmanop, director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT), said yesterday.
Mr Chula said he had been alerted to the change on the ICAO website but had yet to confirm it with the UN agency, which reportedly discussed the issue on Friday.
He phoned to talk with the ICAO yesterday afternoon to receive a confirmation that the red flag has been lifted on Thailand, Mr Chula said, adding that the government will hold a press conference on this matter tomorrow.
If the decision is officially confirmed, Thai airlines can seek new destinations, especially in Japan and South Korea. The Thai aviation industry will also gain more international acceptance in terms of safety, and foreign airlines will make more stops and expand services in the country.
Thai registered airlines will still have problems opening new routes to the United States because the US Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) downgraded Thai aviation to second tier and has yet to revise that decision.
The audit covers eight areas, consisting of aviation legislation and associated civil aviation regulations, civil aviation organisational structure, personnel licencing activities, aircraft operations, airworthiness of civil aircraft, aerodromes, air navigation services and accident investigations.
Thai aviation safety standards have been in doubt since the country was red-flagged by the UN's aviation watchdog in June 2015 for failing to adequately deal with "significant safety concerns" within that time frame.
The red flag issuance resulted in several international flights of Thai registered airlines being restricted, if not banned, in several countries, including Japan, South Korea and China, particularly for operating new routes.
On June 30, CAAT, a new entity regulating aviation and safety standards, submitted to the ICAO a formal request for the red flag to be lifted.
In mid-September, the National Council for Peace and Order issued a special order under Section 44 of the interim constitution to authorise CAAT to suspend the international flights of 12 airlines which had failed to meet safety standards, pending scrutiny and the ICAO audit in September.
Mr Chula had said his office had corrected the flaws raised by the ICAO including amending related laws and regulations and granting Recertification of Air Operator Certificates (Re-AOC) to airlines.
According to Mr Chula, nine out of 21 airlines that operate international flights have been granted Re-AOC and the CAAT plans to complete the process of recertifying the other 12 airlines by Jan 31.
Completing the AOC recertification is considered instrumental to the CAAT's efforts to restore Thailand's aviation safety credentials.
Flight Lieutenant Kanok Thong-purk, a THAI executive vice-president who is acting as president, said THAI management would propose a plan to the company board in a meeting on Oct 18 to resume services on some international routes and adjust service routes to accommodate the possible revocation of Thailand's red flag by the ICAO.
He said if the ICAO lifted the country's red flag, competition in international routes would be heightened as more airlines would begin operating international services.
As a result, the national carrier would have to prepare for the challenge.