Thailand's Department of Civil Aviation (DCA) has extended its grounding order against local low-cost carrier One-Two-Go because it has failed to meet the authority's requirements.
DCA deputy director-general Wuthichai Singhamanee says the authority has issued a third 30-day grounding.
"We extended it by another 30 days because" the airline still needs to lift its standards, improve quality control and ensure staff are properly qualified. In addition there are procedures in the airline's manuals that need to be revised, he says.
The DCA first grounded One-Two-Go on 22 July saying it would be at least a 30-day grounding. It then extended it to 20 September and the latest grounding pushes it back to late October.
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But if the airline can meet all the requirements it will be permitted to fly again before the latest 30-day extension is over, adds Wuthichai.
One-Two-Go has 30-40 pilots but these are only about two weeks through their pilot proficiency checks (PPC), which normally take one month to complete, says Wuthichai.
These PPCs involve simulator training and One-Two-Go has had to send its pilots to a simulator centre in Madrid, Spain because the one it normally uses at Japan Airlines is unavailable, he says.
Wuthichai says DCA inspectors have been accompanying the pilots on these overseas trips,
Normally there is no need for inspectors to be present when the pilots are doing their simulator training but this is "a special case", he says.
When the DCA first grounded One-Two-Go in July it alleged the airline falsified documents relating to PPCs.
While One-Two-Go has been grounded, sister carrier Orient Thai Airlines has been permitted to continue operating.
But Wuthichai says Orient Thai is only permitted to operate its Boeing 747s and is barred from operating Boeing MD-80-series aircraft, the aircraft type that One-Two-Go operates.
The DCA's clampdown on One-Two-Go was sparked by findings from its investigation into last September's fatal crash of a One-Two-Go MD-82 at Phuket airport that resulted in the deaths of 90 of the 123 people on board.
Wuthichai is the chairman of the sub-committee investigating the crash.
He says a final report was to have been issued this month but it has yet to be completed and it might be the middle of next month.
Source: Air Transport Intelligence news
