Thailand's amended aviation law to be promulgated in coming months

BANGKOK, June 22 (TNA) - The Ministry of Transport is speeding up the amendment of Thailand's air transport law to meet the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO)'s standards, with the revised bill expected to be promulgated in October 2015. Thai Transport Minister Air Chief Marshal Prajin Juntong, thus, chaired a meeting of concerned authorities in Bangkok on Monday to discuss the draft bill, which amends the Air Transport Act B.E. 2497, as the amendment is among the tasks Thailand must achieve to meet the ICAO’s standards on air transport safety. The amended version of the Thai aviation law will cover supervision and safety management more comprehensively, including control on floating lanterns which threaten aircraft, as well as a new workforce structure. Besides, the Thai Ministry of Transport plans to divide its Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) into four units and is seeking an approval from the army-led National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) so that Section 44 of the Provisional Constitution can be exercised to speed up the DCA's restructuring. (TNA)