By CS Thana
BANGKOK
Thailand's transport minister has accepted that the country has failed to meet aviation safety standards after the International Civil Aviation Organization set a 90-day deadline to avoid a safety downgrade.
The ICAO – the United Nations agency in charge of global aviation - showed a "Yellow Flag" to Thailand in January after the Civil Aviation Department scored poorly in an audit.
"We have to admit that we failed the test," Prajin Juntong told reporters on Friday. "We now have to look into what should be done to address it."
The Bangkok Post reported that the transport minister had informed local carriers to prepare for a possible backlash.
All airlines registered in Thailand, including major carriers like Thai Airways, could now face a possible ban on new routes and the cancellation of charter routes. Existing routes would continue to operate as normal however.
"If any countries take steps to ban us, we may not have the power to negotiate on it. We have to accept the situation and move ahead to tackle the problems," Juntong said.
An unnamed senior executive of a Thai airline operating on international routes voiced the fears of many to the Post.
What we're gravely concerned about is more countries coming to clip our wings since our image is made worse by the red flag," he said.
The European Aviation Safety Agency has informed Thai authorities it will make an announcement on the issue June 25.
