Thailand: Pilot qualification eased to help airlines

The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand's board has agreed to revise the criteria for military pilots looking to make a switch to commercial airlines, said CAAT's director Chula Sukmanop. He said military pilots and those who fly for state-run agencies will be required under the new rules to complete 200 hours of flying commercial transport planes to obtain a licence to fly commercial airliners. The current rule requires that applicants seeking to fly for a commercial airliner have logbooks with 1,500 hours. Chula said dozens of military and police pilots as well as those in other agencies quit every year to join the ranks of commercial pilots, with the existing rules causing headaches for them as they make the change. Chula said concerns about possible brain drain have been taken into consideration when approving the new criteria. <br/>