The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) has unveiled a series of proposed measures aimed at restricting the number of start-up carriers looking to commence operations in the country.
The CAAT's acting director, Chula Sukmanop, told The Bangkok Post that applicants would now have to undergo tougher financial and ownership scrutiny before being granted an Air Operator's License (AOL) from the Thai Ministry of Transportation.
Chula said the CAAT would set up a screening committee, chaired by the CAAT's director, to review and decide if applicants meet various requirements. Its findings will be forwarded to the transport minister who is empowered to grant AOLs, he said.
Financially, scheduled operators will be required to have a fully paid up, registered capital of at least THB200 million baht (USD5.8 million) while charter operators must have at least THB25 million baht (USD721,000). Both sectors require a 5% bank guarantee and any AOLs issued will be valid for a period of five years.
Those seeking to offer sightseeing flights do not require a minimum registered capital and their AOLs are valid for only three years.
The CAAT will also closely scrutinize the ownership credentials of an airline's shareholders to ensure Thai nationals are not being used as fronts for foreign interests. Thai law caps foreign ownership of local airlines at 49%.
Once an applicant has secured their AOL, they must begin AOC certification within sixty days and launch operations within a year or have their AOLs revoked.
Chula noted that the ten airlines which were recently granted AOLs/have pending AOCs are exempted from the new criteria. However, that is not to say existing carriers have been excluded from the new provisions.
The CAAT is currently recertifying all existing carriers which have been subdivided into four groups. The first involves the eight airlines that control 70% of the Thai market - Thai Airways International; Bangkok Airways; Thai AirAsia, Nok Air, NokScoot, K-Mile Asia, and Orient Thai Airlines. The second group comprises Thai Smile, Siam Air, Jet Asia Airways, R Airlines, Asia Atlantic Airlines, Thai VietJetAir, Thai Lion Air, and NewGen Airways. The third group has seven airlines and the fourth group two.
Thailand is also looking to enforce new ageing-aircraft laws with passenger aircraft to be no older than sixteen years of age on the day of registration while freighters may be no older than eighteen. The limits on the age of service have not yet been specified.
In June last year, ICAO formally instated a Significant Safety Concern (SSC) against Thailand after the country's then Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) failed to adequately address shortcomings identified during a Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) inspection in January 2015.
At the time, Thailand reportedly only satisfied 21 out the 100 USOAP criteria with problem areas said to have included: personnel licensing and training, airworthiness assessment and certification, airline operations oversight and the granting of Air Operator Certificates (AOC) to airlines.
Since then, the Thai government has set about restructuring its regulatory landscape in time for ICAO's follow-up inspection provisionally scheduled for early next year.
