The Thai Civil Aviation Authority (ThCAA) has ordered all locally-registered operators to submit copies of their financial records by March 31 or risk having their respective AOCs suspended.
The Bangkok Times reports that the ThCAA has already identified four airlines - City Airways (Bangkok Suvarnabhumi), Kan Air (KND, Chiang Mai), Asian Air (Thailand) (Bangkok Don Mueang), and Jet Asia Airways (Bangkok Suvarnabhumi) - whose heavy debt overhangs have lead to concerns about their ability to uphold adequate safety standards.
CAAT director Chula Sukmanop and Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith have instructed the authority to keep tabs on their respective operations.
"Those airlines affected by significant liabilities or debts from aircraft rentals can be seen as incapable of managing their businesses," said Mr Arkhom. "The question must be raised about how airlines with unstable finances and debts can still be allowed to operate."
Kan Air, however, has not taken kindly to the allegations and has now prepared itself to file a lawsuit against the ThCAA for defamation. Somphong Sooksanguan, the president of the airline's parent firm Kannithi Aviation Co., told a press gathering on Tuesday that the CAAT's public disclosure of Kan Air's debts was "unethical and critically damaging to the commuter airline's creditability." As such, the ThCAA must be held to account for its inappropriate disclosure, he said.
The crackdown comes as the Thai government attempts to clean up the state of the country's civil aviation industry which has been hit hard by safety downgrades by both the ICAO and the US FAA in the past twelve months.
