US reinstates Thailand's top aviation safety rating

FILE PHOTO: Workers service a Thai Airways aircraft at Bangkok International Suvarnabhumi Airport

FILE PHOTO: Workers service a Thai Airways Airbus A380-800 aircraft at Bangkok International Suvarnabhumi Airport, Thailand September 3, 2019. Picture taken September 3, 2019. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh/File Photo

Source: REUTERS

By David Shepardson

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said on Wednesday it had upgraded Thailand's air safety rating to "Category 1" a decade after a downgrade, paving the way for direct U.S.-Thailand flights to resume.

Thai airlines could not launch or expand services to the United States, either directly or as a code-share partner, under the International Aviation Safety Assessment "Category 2" rating the FAA had assigned in 2015 due to a shortage of technical officers and certification problems in transporting hazardous goods. The top rating shows compliance with International Civil Aviation Organization standards.

In 2017, Thailand resolved a significant safety concern identified through the ICAO Universal Safety Oversight Audit Program in 2015, the agency said on Thursday.

Prior to late-2015, Thai Airways flew direct between Bangkok and New York and Los Angeles.

In 2017, Thailand said it aimed to get an air safety rating upgrade by 2018. Bangkok is a regional airline hub and Thailand had more than 35 million foreign tourists last year.

This article was produced by Reuters news agency. It has not been edited by Global South World.

By Reuters