THAI insists on high standards

BANGKOK, June 18 (TNA) - Thai Airways International (THAI), the national flag carrier, ensures its high safety standards, as the national airline has obtained relevant certificates from foreign aviation safety organizations. THAI President Charamporn Jotikasthira made the assurance on Thursday, referring to certificates the national airline has received from the European Aviation Safety Agency, the Federal Aviation Administration of the United States, the Civil Aviation Safety Authority of Australia, the Civil Aviation Administration of China, the Japan Civil Aviation Bureau and the International Air Transport Association. Charamporn explained that the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) has put its red flag on Thailand in its website, after conducting its Universal Safety Oversight Audit Program on the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA), under the Thai Ministry of Transport, and finding SCCs on DCA's air safety certification, indicated that DCA's air safety control did not meet ICAO's standards but it did not refer to any compromised safety standard of air transport services, airlines, aircraft and airports of Thailand. The THAI president noted, however, that other countries have learned about ICAO's Significant Safety Concerns (SSCs) on DCA since February 13 and intensified their safety checks on all THAI's aviation operations, including ramp inspection, station audit and base audit, and found their standards. (TNA)