Indonesian Ministry of Transport restricts Thai carriers over safety fears

The Indonesian Ministry of Transport has confirmed that it has applied a number of restrictions to Thai operators which fly into Indonesia, as a result of safety concerns voiced by both the ICAO and FAA. These restrictions include a ban on any alterations to existing flight schedules or aircraft, along with an across-the-board ban on any new Thai operator services. Thai Transport Minister Prajin Juntong has been quoted as saying that “The Thai Transport Ministry received the notification from its Indonesian counterpart on June 16.” However the restrictions were initially applied by Indonesia way on May 29, and it was only through poor communication between the two ministries that the Thai Ministry of Transport became aware of the new restrictions several weeks later.
Juntong added that Indonesian authorities had also promised they would be conducting “frequent checks” on all Thai-registered airlines that flew into Indonesia. Indonesia has now joined the ranks of other countries who have placed restrictions on Thai carriers, including China, South Korea, Taiwan, Japan and Singapore. These new restrictions follow on closely to an ICAO red flag status which was applied in June, and a recent FAA report which concluded that safety oversight was in urgent need of remedial action across a number of Thai carriers. The FAA is expected to release a full report on Thai safety compliance in September this year.
However it is not all bad news for Thai carriers as one country who has not joined the ranks of the dissenters is the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and they have just concluded a major deal promoting Thai tourism. UAE flag carrier Etihad Airways has agreed to work in conjunction with the Tourism Authority of Thailand (TAT) on a $1.25 million plan to increase Thai tourism from a number of European and Middle Eastern countries, along with South Africa, providing no further international restrictions are applied.