Thai authorities set rules for "child angel dolls" on planes

BANGKOK, January 27 (TNA) - Thai aviation authorities have required "child angel dolls" to be kept aboard as luggage unless their owners buy tickets for their seats. Chula Sukmanop, Director-General of the Department of Airports and Acting Director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT), both are under the Thai Ministry of Transport, told journalists on Wednesday, after a meeting with airlines' operators in Bangkok, that he has informed the operators of regular flights of standard rules which define such infant-like dolls as carry-ons and owners have to keep them in overhead compartments on board airplanes. Chula said owners can, otherwise, buy additional tickets to place the dolls on seats next to them in the same way that owners of big carry-ons, like guitars and cellos, have done, with the tickets required to be booked with the names of the passengers, not the doll names. Before boarding a plane, the senior official stressed, owners must also allow officials to check their dolls and those who resist or whose dolls do not pass such checks will not be allowed to board the dolls on planes. The senior Thai official cautioned that any air passenger who refuses to comply with the air transport rules is liable to a fine of up to 40,000 baht and/or a jail term of up to one year. (TNA)