[Peetwo]

From a March 31st post on this thread:

"..Dear miniscule,

Please take note your Murky Mandarin could be leading you up the garden path...Take heed miniscule...Thai takeaway might be the last thing on your mind but the big Q & the big V will not be happy if you have not considered the very real implications of an ICAO downgrade..."

Thailand admits 'urgent' need to improve aviation safety  


Thailand admits 'urgent' need to improve aviation safety

Bangkok (AFP) - Thai authorities Monday said they would use special powers under junta rule to "urgently" improve airline safety as several carriers face bans on new international flights following concerns raised by a UN aviation agency.

The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a United Nations body, recently reported "significant safety concerns" to Thailand's Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) after an audit earlier in the year.

In response Japan last week blocked new flights from Thailand in a move affecting charter services by budget carriers Thai AirAsia X and NokScoot as well as Asia Atlantic Airlines, the DCA said, adding existing flights would not be impacted.

Flag carrier Thai Airways has also been hit, saying in a statement on its Facebook page Saturday that two charter flights scheduled for Japan next month had been affected.

At a press conference Monday junta chief and premier Prayut Chan-O-Cha told reporters he would use Section 44 of the interim constitution -- imposed after he seized power from an elected government last May and which gives him absolute powers over legislative, executive and judicial decisions -- to expedite safety improvements.

"We have to accept that we are losing revenue from this, I am serious about solving the problem," he said.

In what appears to be a growing fallout of the ICAO decision a transport ministry official, deputy permanent secretary Voradej Harnprasert, told reporters that airlines including Thai Airways and Nok Air may also face a potential ban on new flights from Seoul and Beijing. It was not immediately possible to confirm these bans.

Prayut also said that he had raised the aviation safety issue with the Japanese prime minister and the South Korean president on the sidelines of the funeral of Singapore's founding father Lee Kuan Yew on Sunday.

- Slipped Standards -

The UN body has flagged several safety concerns including Thai aviation department personnel failing to meet international standards and a lack of full aviation regulations, Transport Minister Prajin Juntong told the press conference.

"The audit revealed some concerns relating to air operator certification procedures," ICAO spokesman Anthony Philbin told AFP by email, stressing that ICAO audits review the capability of civil aviation authorities to monitor and manage operational aviation safety.

Thai authorities have set up two new committees to tackle the concerns and will send teams to South Korea, China, Australia and Germany to discuss the issues following a trip to Japan late last week, Prajin added.

Earlier in the day the minister had said Thailand was warned about its aviation management after an earlier ICAO audit in 2005. "(They) asked us to improve our systems. I understand we have to improve urgently."

In its statement released last Thursday the DCA had said it would provide new training for staff and increase airline inspections as part of its overhaul.

Section 44 has been under the spotlight in Thailand in recent days after Prayut Friday said he was considering lifting martial law, imposed two days before May's coup, and replacing it with an order under this controversial portion of the interim charter.

Several local rights groups have urged the junta chief to rethink the plans, issuing a joint statement maintaining their call to lift martial law but saying the impact of invoking the new order would be "much worse".

Under martial law Thailand's generals have banned political gatherings of more than five people, outlawed criticism of the ruling regime and tried civilians in military courts.

Well some hours ago today the FAA issued a press release :

Press Release – FAA Announces Revised Safety Rating for the Kingdom of Thailand

For Immediate Release
December 1, 2015
Contact: Alison Duquette or Les Dorr
Phone: (202) 267-3883

---

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) today announced that the Kingdom of Thailand does not comply with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) safety standards and has been assigned a Category 2 ratingbased on a reassessment of the country’s civil aviation authority.

U.S. and Thai aviation officials have a long-standing cooperative relationship and both our countries work continuously to meet the challenge of ensuring aviation safety. A Category 2 International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) rating means that the country either lacks laws or regulations necessary to oversee air carriers in accordance with minimum international standards, or its civil aviation authority – a body equivalent to the FAA for aviation safety matters – is deficient in one or more areas, such as technical expertise, trained personnel, record-keeping, or inspection procedures. With a Category 2 rating, Thailand’s carriers can continue existing service to the United States. They will not be allowed to establish new service to the United States.
 
Thailand was assigned an initial Category 2 rating in 1996 and received a Category 1 rating in 1997. Reassessments of Thailand in 2001 and 2008 continued the Category 1 rating. A reassessment in July 2015 found that Thailand did not meet international standards. Today’s announcement follows ongoing discussions with the government of Thailand which concluded on October 28.

As part of the FAA’s IASA program, the agency assesses the civil aviation authorities of all countries with air carriers that have applied to fly to the United States, currently conduct operations to the United States, or participate in code sharing arrangements with U.S. partner airlines, and makes that information available to the public. The assessments determine whether or not foreign civil aviation authorities are meeting ICAO safety standards, not FAA regulations.

A Category 1 rating means the country’s civil aviation authority complies with ICAO standards.  With an IASA Category 1 rating, a country’s air carriers can establish service to the United States and carry the code of U.S. carriers. In order to maintain a Category 1 rating, a country must adhere to the safety standards of ICAO, the United Nations’ technical agency for aviation that establishes international standards and recommended practices for aircraft operations and maintenance. IASA information is posted at www.faa.gov/about/initiatives/iasa/.

Ben Sandilands closely followed the FAA presser with this.. :

Thailand fails critical air safety standards, cops US downgrade

Ben Sandilands | Dec 02, 2015 8:40AM |

Thai 747 at Bangkok’s Suvarnabhumi Airport

All Thai airlines flights that serve Australia are as of today branded as coming under inadequate safety oversights from its national aviation agencies as a result of ICAO and American FAA downgrades.

Whether the consequences of those downgrades are fair or unfair to Thai International, which is Thailand’s major flag carrier, is beside the point. Thailand’s capacity to properly administer air safety compliance by any of its airlines, or for that matter, airports, is now under a very dark cloud.

This is how John Goglia, a former long serving board member on the US National Transportation Safety Board, summarised the situation in Forbes a short time ago.

The Federal Aviation Administration announced this morning that Thailand’s aviation safety rating has been downgraded from Category 1 to Category 2.  This means that the FAA has determined that Thailand does not meet international safety standards set by the International Civil Aviation Organization, referred to as ICAO. As a result of the downgrade, Thai airlines can continue existing service to the US but no new service will be allowed.  In addition, US airlines will not be able to code share with Thai airlines.
According to the FAA’s statement, the category 2 rating means “the country either lacks laws or regulations necessary to oversee air carriers in accordance with minimum international standards, or its civil aviation authority – a body equivalent to the FAA for aviation safety matters – is deficient in one or more areas, such as technical expertise, trained personnel, record-keeping, or inspection procedures.”  In addition, the FAA indicated that Thailand has had a history of ups and downs with its aviation safety ratings.  It was initially assessed a Category 2 in 1996, which was upgraded to Category 1 in 1997. Reassessments in 2001 and 2008 continued the Category 1 rating.  However, an FAA reassessment in July 2015 found that Thailand did not meet international standards.

Plane Talking reported the initial red flagging of Thai air safety by the FAA back in July.

Whatever concerns Qantas might privately have about the competency of Thai air safety administration concerning its air space or airports in the light of ICAO and FAA disapproval, the consequences of such a downgrade being visited on Australia’s aviation regulators ought never be disregarded.

The public administration of aviation in this country is farcical and profoundly incapable of performing its obligations as evidenced in the Pel-Air saga and the notable inability of CASA to oversight that operation or tell the truth about the situation following an internal review.

Australia has talked a great deal about delivering better safety administration outcomes in recent years. Yet it hasn’t delivered on any of the rhetoric. Lots of PR bullshit, sod all material results.

There are in this, some similarities with the inertia exhibited by Thai authorities that ought not be lost on Australia’s flag carriers, who could like Thai International, find themselves seriously penalised by a failure of process in Canberra that isn’t of their own doing.

Well said Ben and IMO that is not just rhetoric when you consider some of the recent findings/observations in regards to the ongoing PelAir cover-up debacle - e.g. Beyond Reason - & the pale??
Tick..tock 'Malcolm in the middle' & Farmer Truss ICAO have ticked off the Thai peninsula and are on their way Downunda..tick tock...
MTF...P2