PM:ICAO is satisfied with Thailand’s efforts

BANGKOK, June 19 (TNA) - Prime Minister General Prayut Chan-ocha says that the United Nations International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) appears to be satisfied with Thailand's efforts to solve issues raised by the UN agency. The prime minister told journalists of the positive prospect on Friday, after Thailand recently sent Deputy Transport Minister Arkhom Termpittayapaisith to explain the issues to ICAO by himself in Canada. The prime minister said that ICAO, however, wants to see measures taken by the Thai government to solve the issues for a certain period. According to the prime minister, the deputy transport minister has already reported action taken by ICAO to him, while so far not a single country has banned Thai commercial airlines from entering their countries. The prime minister stressed that he has held in-depth discussions with concerned authorities on how Thailand should solve the aviation issues raised by ICAO. The Thai premier insisted that it is the duty of his government to solve every problem and his administration is putting entire efforts to address the issues raised by ICAO. Thailand has received the "red flag" from ICAO since February 2015 after the UN aviation regulator found Significant Safety Concerns (SCCs) on the country's Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) in its air safety certification, but the UN agency disclosed the information to its members only. The UN aviation regulator, however, publicly red flagged Thailand on its website on June 18. Regarding his government's efforts to remove the "yellow card" recently issued against Thailand by the European Union (EU) for the illegal unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, the prime minister admitted he believed the "yellow card" issued to the country would not be waived at least in the near future, urging all parties to help solve the problem. (TNA)