PHUKET, Thailand (30 Aug 2005) -- Phuket Airlines yesterday faced yet another blow when France confirmed that the Thai carrier had been banned from its skies for safety reasons since June 4. Phuket Airlines was one of six listed on the web site of the French civil aviation authority DGAC. The others were Air Koryo from North Korea, Air Saint-Thomas from the United States, International Air Service from Liberia, Linhas Aereas de Mocambique (LAM) and an affiliate, Transairways. The ban on Phuket Airlines has been in place since June 4 of this year. The Air Koryo sanctions date back to April 2001 while the others were imposed last year. Britain and the Netherlands banned Phuket Airlines in April following an incident involving a London-bound Boeing 747-200 preparing for takeoff from Sharjah in the United Arab Emirates. The Thai carrier has been trying to turn around its business by reducing its workforce from 900 employees to 600 employees by next April and strengthen expertise among the remaining staff. The French civil aviation authority said its bans were published in response to a series of recent crashes including one in Venezuela on Aug 16 that killed 160 people, most of them French tourists. French Transport Minister Dominique Perben also promised that safety checks would be stepped up on aircraft making stopovers in French airports and on airlines applying for French landing rights. The European Commission welcomed the move, noting that it has been promoting a uniform standard for all 25 European Union members. Members are now debating the exact criteria for "naming and shaming". | | Chawanit Chiamcharoenvut, executive vice-president of Phuket Airlines, said at a press conference in Bangkok yesterday that the ban had little effect on Phuket Airlines as it no longer operated in Europe. In May, the UK Department for Transport suspended the permits of Phuket Airlines and seven others due to safety concerns, one month after it was banned from flying to the Netherlands. Capt Chawanit said that the French civil aviation authority might have used the old information from the UK and the Netherlands in imposing the ban. Capt Chawanit also noted that the French and other aviation regulators had never audited the safety standards of the airlines before imposing bans. "We will send a letter to seek their explanations." He said the airline's only international service now was the Bangkok-Rangoon route. Its operation in South Korea has been suspended after it 747-300 jumbo jet was impounded at the Incheon International Airport over a legal dispute with a local sales agent for weeks. Locally, the carrier provides three routes: Bangkok-Ranong, Bangkok-Buri Ram, and Bangkok-Mae Sot. The airline now has 16 aircraft: five each of 747-300s and YS-11s and three each of 747-200s and 737-200s. SOURCE - Bangkok Post |
