Thai airlines’ safety under scrutiny after inspection
UAE heeds advice for maintenance checks of planes
An increased inspection regime for aircraft and aviation operators from Thailand went into effect yesterday following the announcement of a safety gap in the Thai civil aviation system.
The International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) recently conducted a safety audit on Thailand that revealed the country was not providing sufficient measures to maintain the organisation’s standards.
The ICAO headquarters are in Montreal, Canada, with branches around the world. Its Middle East arm is based out of Cairo, Egypt.
As a result, the UAE increased its surveillance on all Thai aviation operators.
“Since the safety of air transport and the UAE public is of paramount importance, all operators that come into the UAE are inspected on a frequent basis,” said Saif Al Suwaidi, director general of the General Civil Aviation Authority (GCAA).
The authority said the safety performance of Thai operators in the UAE to date had been satisfactory.
“We will carefully continue to observe their performance and will consider, if and when re- quired, any further measures,” said Matar Al Suwaidi, acting director of foreign operators. The GCAA has a programme that requires foreign operators to submit to a risk questionnaire.
It also has a safety assessment of foreign aircraft as part of the EU ramp inspection programme.
Two years ago, aviation officials said Asian airports in Bali, Indonesia, Koh Samui, Thailand, Langkawi, Malaysia, and Cebu, Philippines, lacked ground detection systems for deadly winds.
At the time, adverse wind conditions were a factor in more than 30 per cent of accidents globally at approach or landing, Airbus, the French plane manufacturer, said.
Two months ago, aviation safety experts called for improved systems to allow regulators, operators and pilots to cope with the increasing number of flights.
Foreign airlines operating in the UAE are carefully scrutinised to standards of an EU inspection programme