THE much-anticipated European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) decision has revealed that Thailand’s carriers were spared from being included in its list of airlines banned from operating in 28 European Union (EU) member countries.
While no details were given, the EASA addressed the issue in a statement, saying: “No air carriers from Thailand were added to the Air Safety List at this time.”
EASA added that they “are willing to continue to work with the Thai authorities to enhance aviation safety in the country. The Commission and EASA will however closely monitor future developments and, if the protection of air passengers against safety risks so requires, the Commission could then propose to include one or more air carriers from Thailand in the Air Safety List.”
Despite the caveat, this is great relief for Thailand after the country’s Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) received a downgrade from the US Federal Aviation Authority last week.
While no tangible impact resulted from the downgrade, since no Thai carriers currently operate in North America, it has adversely affected Thailand’s image as far as aviation safety is concerned.
A negative decision from EASA would have been disastrous for the South-east Asian nation which relies heavily on European arrivals for tourism revenue and footfall.
