EU warns Thailand of airline safety enhancement

Thailand's airlines have been spared a ban from European skies despite concerns over flight safety in the country. Last Thursday, EU regulators issued a special warning over travelling on Airlines from Thailand, but stopped short of following last week's US damaging safety downgrade for a country heavily dependent on tourism.

Telegraph reports that last month the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which regulates US air safety, downgraded all Thai airlines to "category 2" because of its concerns about the country's ability to properly supervise the growth of the booming aviation business. While no Thai airlines currently fly to or from the States, the move prevents them for establishing new routes. In the decision of the US authorities, they cited a series of shortcomings over technical expertise, trained personnel, record-keeping and inspection procedures. But the EU's air safety regulator, while announcing an update to its list of banned airlines, declined to impose its own restrictions, saying instead that it would continue to closely monitor aviation standards in the country.

"No carriers from Thailand were added to the Air Safety List at this time," said the European Commission in a statement on Thursday. "The Commission and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) are willing to continue to work with the Thai authorities to enhance aviation safety in the country."

"The Commission and EASA will however closely monitor future developments and, if the protection of air passengers against safety risks so requires, the Commission could then propose to include one or more air carriers from Thailand in the Air Safety List."

The EU's air-safety list, often referred to as a blacklist, involves bans or restrictions on foreign carriers over safety concerns or weaknesses in a country's oversight of its airlines. In some cases airlines from entire countries are banned because of safety concerns.

EurActiv says that in the blacklist update for Europe, the European Union added Iraqi Airways but dropped Kazakh carrier, Air Astana.

Thai Airlines said in a statement, "No air carriers from Thailand were added to the Air Safety List at this time. As such Thai will continue to operate regularly-scheduled flights to Europe."

According to France24, the current EU safety list covers 20 countries and some 230 airlines that are banned from flying European skies. The countries where airlines are banned outright are -- Afghanistan, Angola, Benin, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Djibouti, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, Indonesia, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Liberia, Libya, Mozambique, Nepal, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, Sudan and Zambia.

Thai Airline is free to fly in European skies as Europe has not listed it in the current EU safety list besides US damaging safety downgrade for a country. So Thai airlines will continue to operate regularly- scheduled flights to Europe, but EASA will closely monitor for future development.