The Thai government has said it will suspend international flight permits of Thai airlines that have not yet received operator certificates from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).
The widely expected move comes ahead of a week-long monitoring visit by ICAO from September 20.
"They want to see a strict measure. The government had to order the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand to suspend operations of airlines which did not pass assessment," government spokesman Sansern Kaewkumnerd.
The suspension will last until at least January 31, 2018.
It affects at least a dozen airlines, Sansern said.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand had initially set a deadline of August 31 for the airlines to get recertified for Air Operators Certification on stricter criteria than before.
CAAT said recently it is offering ‘temporary relief assistance’ to those airlines but did not disclose exactly what that involved.
The ICAO is reviewing the overall aviation safety and regulatory system in Thailand with a view to upgrading the current ‘red flag’ status.
