An unnamed Thai airline is on the brink of having its licence rescinded by the country’s aviation authorities in the face of a financial crisis.
Another has been told it must devise a monetary restructuring after complaints from staff.
Nine of Thailand’s 23 airlines which account for 70% of all international flights out of the country, are poised to have their air operator certificates reissued this year. A further 14 are expected to receive approval next January.
Two airlines have been told their futures are uncertain, according to the Bangkok Post.
The carriers involved have not been named, but one is reportedly close to being grounded.
Chula Sukmanop, director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand, said one of the airlines has been instructed to begin a rehabilitation plan after complaints were lodged by its employees.
Thailand is one of eight countries marked with a red flag, denoting a “significant security concern”, by the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).
The US Federal Aviation Administration downgraded the country’s aviation safety rating to Category 2 over safety concerns in December 2015, banning Thai airlines from opening new routes to the US or expanding existing ones.
Thai airlines were placed under “special measures” by ICAO two years ago, causing a number to cancel flights, but Thailand’s aviation regulator hopes the red flag will be lifted after it finishes an audit of its carriers, the Daily Telegraph reported.
The two airlines struggling were not named by the CAAT, the nine set to have their AOCs re-issued imminently were:
• Thai Airways International
• Bangkok Airways
• Thai AirAsia
• Nok Air
• K-Mile Air
• Orient Thai Airlines
• Air Asia X
• NokScoot
• Thai Smile
No Thai airlines are currently banned from flying within the EU.