The International Air Transport Association called upon the Thai government to address the country’s aviation sector, in regards to both lax safety standards and high costs associated with doing aviation business in Thailand, compared to other destinations in Southeast Asia.

Safety issues brought to attention by both IATA and the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration include a failure to achieve some of the highest safety rankings, particularly International Civil Aviation Organization compliancy.

The airlines, however, are not to blame. “These assessments look at what the government is doing — not the airlines. Thai Airways and Bangkok Airways are IATA members and, along with Thai Lion Air and Orient Thai Airlines are on the registry of the IATA Operation Safety Audit (IOSA). This demonstrates that they are operating to the highest global standards for operational safety. ICAO and the U.S. FAA have pointed out safety oversight concerns and divergence from global standards at the government level. Safety is aviation’s top priority. The government of Thailand must address these concerns in support of a vibrant aviation sector that is the backbone of travel and tourism,” said Tony Tyler, director general and CEO, IATA.

Capacity was also called into question, with the statement being made Bangkok is in desperate need of a strong hub airport, calling out Suvarnabhumi Airport (BKK) for the ways in which it’s lacking. This includes one of IATA’s safety concerns, particularly tarmac “soft spots,” caused by the use of sub-standard materials, which can cause danger to aircraft, ground vehicles and ground personnel. The frequent minor repairs made to these “soft spots” causes traffic congestion, without actually fixing the root of the problem. The airport also is only designed to process 45 million passengers per year and is currently exceeding that by more than 7 million, with demand growing by 10 per cent annually.

Currently, the World Economic Forum ranks Thailand 35^th in its Travel and Tourism Competitiveness Index, which is behind nearby competing destinations such as Singapore, Malaysia and others. As low-cost carriers handle 54 per cent of the short-haul air traffic in Southeast Asia, with Gulf hubs and carriers competing for long-haul traffic, there’s not much room for both Thai carriers and Thai airports to raise prices for passengers through new taxes and charges.

“Aviation is critical to Thailand’s economic success. It is the backbone of the tourism industry and provides critical global business links. We estimate that today aviation and related activities account for some 2 million Thai jobs and generate $2 billion in GDP. And by 2035 we could see that grow to 3.8 million jobs and $53 billion in GDP. If realized, that potential 83 per cent growth would have a broad and positive impact across the Thai economy. It is in jeopardy, however, unless key issues of safety, capacity and costs are addressed urgently,” said Tyler.