Jet Asia Airways (Bangkok Suvarnabhumi) has been given the greenlight by the South Korean Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT) to operate charter flights between Thailand and South Korea over the period April 7 to April 15. The country had previously banned all Thai charter and scheduled carriers from increasing flights and opening up new routes after March 31 in response to safety concerns raised by the International Civil Aviation Organization about Thailand's aviation regulatory landscape.
The Bangkok Times says that while an application to increase flights by two other charter airlines, Asia Atlantic Airlines (Bangkok Suvarnabhumi) and Asian Air (Thailand) (Bangkok Don Mueang), was rejected, scheduled carriers Thai Airways International (TG, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi) and Thai AirAsia X (XJ, Bangkok Suvarnabhumi) have both been invited to apply for an increase in their frequencies to South Korea.
Last week, Asian Air, Thai Airways International, Thai AirAsia X, NokScoot (Bangkok Don Mueang), Jet Asia Airways, and Asia Atlantic Airlines were granted a reprieve by Japan's Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB) to operate charter flights to Japan from April 11 to May 31 but are permitted to change neither the type of aircraft used nor the routes they have indicated they will operate.
Since news of an impending issuance of a Serious Safety Concern (SSC) against Thailand was announced late last month, various Asian nations including Cambodia, Singapore, China as well as Australia have tightened checks and inspections of Thai-based airlines as well as their aircraft and crew.
