Aircraft of the Thai Airways (Photo: nationmultimedia.com)Hanoi (VNA) – The International CivilAviation Organisation (ICAO) has removed a safety “red flag” against Thaicarriers since 2015.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) saidthat the ICAO passed the decision after its meeting on October 6.
Although theICAO has yet to give any official announcement, however, the red flag symbol onThailand name disappeared on its official website.
The lifting of “red flag” status indicates thatThailand has dealt with the problems of under-standard of aviation safety. ButThailand as well as CAAT needs to carry on their missions to improve theaviation safety standards, CAAT said.
Since June 2015, the ICAO lowered aviation safety statusof Thai carriers after its regulator missed a deadline to resolve significantsafety concerns, which triggered restrictions on Thai carriers launching newinternational routes.
Therefore, the new decision of the ICAO will enableThailand to open new international routes to China, Japan and the Republic ofKorea.
The CAAT also expects the US Department ofTransportation’s Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to recover aviationsafety status for Thai carriers, which was also downgraded in 2015.
Shares of Thai Airways and other related companieshave risen upon the information.
Aviation safety is particularly important for Thailandgiven that tourism accounts for around 12 percent of its gross domestic product(GDP).
Other countries which still have the red flags againstthem in the ICAO list include Djibouti, Eritrea, Haiti, Kyrgyzstan andMalawi.-VNA
