THAI operations meet ICAO standards

BANGKOK, March 27 (TNA) - Thai Airways International (THAI), the national flag carrier, says that its aviation business meets international standards, set by the United Nations’ International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). THAI President Jarumporn Chotikasatien told journalists on Friday that THAI and the Bangkok-based Civil Aviation Department (CAD) have negotiated with ICAO and informed the latter that THAI has been operating in line with the global standards. Jarumporn's remarks followed an ICAO report, issued recently, that CAD had failed to meet global standards. Jarumporn noted that THAI is awaiting a reply from ICAO and if the latter remained unhappy, THAI would have to adjust its aviation services to comply with more limitation. The THAI president admitted that the national airline's charter flights to Japan have been affected after the ICAO's report, as Japan has ordered THAI'S subsidiary airlines not to fly there. The THAI president noted that the order by Japan Civil Aviation Bureau (JCAB), in which THAI is barred from increasing its flights or changing routes or changing the size of aircraft to Japan, as of April 2015, would directly affect five commercial flights operated by THAI subsidiaries, which planned to fly to Japan during the high season. According to the THAI president, the JCAB order affects THAI and its subsidiaries, including Thai Smile which has been launched since last August, as well as Nok Scoot and Thai AirAsia X. The THAI president expressed anxieties that the JCAB order might affect THAI’s operations to other countries, as they might issue similar orders. (TNA)