Last December I wrote about the Thai aviation sector undergoing a fresh FAA safety evaluation and is likely to be upgraded into IASA Category 1, which would allow for the filing of new direct/nonstop flights between the U.S. and Thailand.
A few days ago, the final meeting between Thai Civil Aviation (CAAT) officials and their FAA counterparts took place and from the looks of it things have been going well with a final decision coming within 30 days.
Many years ago, there were direct flights between Bangkok and Los Angeles as well as JFK before that, on THAI, but these flights were discontinued as TG dropped the route for profitability reasons.
Since then, the Thai aviation sector had a rough patch with many reports of safety issues and several scandals regarding insufficient security screenings. They have since worked feverishly to improve these conditions.
According to the CAAA, the country is hopeful that it would regain its Category 1 safety ranking within a month.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), led by Mr. Dennis Hill, Acting Director of the Office of Air Carrier Safety Assurance, along with a team of four experts, has commenced its final discussion at the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) from March 10 to 12, 2025. The purpose of this final discussion is to verify the implementation of corrective action plans for the findings identified during the assessment conducted in November 2024.
If Thailand successfully addresses all identified concerns, its aviation safety rating will be upgraded from Category 2 (CAT2) to Category 1 (CAT1). This achievement will allow Thai carriers to resume operations to the United States and expand flight services to other countries that recognize the FAA’s International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) Program. The results of this final discussion will be announced within 30 days after its conclusion.
Air Chief Marshal Manat Chavanaprayoon, Director General of CAAT, reaffirmed that all CAAT personnel are fully committed to ensuring a successful assessment, with the ultimate goal of regaining CAT1.
It would indeed be good for Thailand to re-gain the Cat 1 rating as this would open up new business opportunities for both Thai Airways as well as foreign carriers.
News reports in early December were very premature and reported that it was already a done deal but the FAA – in a statement to LoyaltyLobby – said “not so fast”.
Thailand Aims To Regain Trusted Safety Rating By FAA, New Direct U.S. Flights On The Horizon?
While I don’t see Thai Airways returning its U.S. flights anytime soon, it was already rumored that United Airlines is planning a nonstop flight to Bangkok, and this could now gain traction if the safety evaluation and recertification for Thailand were indeed completed successfully.
As the Bangkok Post reported, the certification would come into effect in February 2025:
Thailand and the United States are expected to resume direct flights in February of next year when the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the US Department of Transportation upgrades Thai aviation safety from Category 2 to Category 1, according to Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Suriya Jungrungreangkit.
Mr Suriya recently announced the significant progress in Thailand’s aviation safety standards following an inspection by the FAA between Nov 11 and 15, with the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) receiving favourable evaluations.
He said while some minor issues remain, they are not expected to impact the final decision, adding that Thailand is projected to regain its Category 1 (CAT 1) safety rating by February next year, marking a major milestone for the country’s aviation sector.
Thailand’s downgrade to Category 2 (CAT 2) in December 2015 followed a reassessment by the FAA, citing non-compliance with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) standards.
In 2015, the ICAO found a conflict of interest in that the department is both the regulator and the operator of provincial airports in the country.
It also warned of insufficient personnel inspection and leniency in issuing air transport licences. …
Thailand has made significant improvements in airports, immigration controls, and aviation regulation by the CAAT. Screening has also gone up, and there are (apparently) no longer bypass doors.
Is Thailand’s airport significantly more unsafe than other countries’ airports from which flights depart to the U.S. on a daily basis? I’d say no, but the FAA disagreed over the last ten years.
I first wrote about this in the wake of Thailand’s first downgrade to a Cat 2 in the 2014/2015 inspection and subsequent audit failure:
And let’s not forget the crazy case of the Thai Police General, a former Metropolitan Police chief, who was detained by Japanese authorities at Tokyo’s Narita International Airport for having a gun and ammunition in his possession.
The firearm passed through Bangkok Airport on the way to Japan without being detected (or he wasn’t screened in the first place). He said that it was his duty weapon, and he simply forgot it was still in his baggage. This might very well be true and an honest mistake, but it also highlighted severe security lapses at Suvarnabhumi.
The inspectors then found many legitimate reasons for significant problems with Thailand’s aviation sector. The regulatory agency was one of them, and to the government’s credit, it reacted and created the CAAT as a separate entity that (at least in principle) acts independently.
Airport security has been approved, and while no security anywhere in the world is 100% perfect (especially not in the U.S. itself, given the annual report about the TSA’s own security errors and missed contraband).
Still, since then, a decade has passed, and if this rating upgrade kicks in, we’re finally back to square one so that U.S. airlines can fly back into Thailand and put codeshares on Thai Airways flights.
Conclusion
Thailand reportedly underwent a final inspection and debriefing with FAA regulators, which ranks countries worldwide in terms of aviation safety, and these ratings decide if flights/routes can be established between the two countries and which airlines are allowed to file for new routes. A final decision about this should be forthcoming within the month.
Thailand previously lost its IASA Cat 1 rating almost a decade ago. Since then, there have been no direct flights between Thailand and the U.S. Thai Airways used to operate Airbus A340-500 on routes to LAX/JFK but eventually stopped these flights and mothballed the planes, citing their unprofitability.
Is a nonstop flight between the U.S. and Thailand something to look forward to? I flew Air Canada nonstop between Vancouver and Bangkok once—never again. It was brutal, even in Business Class. I would rather break it up and stop along the way, either in Korea or Japan. But this matter also affects codeshares to/from Thailand put on THAI flights by U.S. carriers.
Let’s see if United follows through and opens a nonstop route from San Francisco or (more likely) Los Angeles, as some rumors swirled around in early October.
