Thai air safety upgrade opens up growing China, Korea, Japan markets

Thai airlines can now add flights to the growing China, South Korea and Japan markets after the UN ICAO removed a red flag against Thailand over safety concerns, officials said Monday. Thailand was downgraded in June 2015 after its regulator missed a deadline to resolve significant safety concerns, meaning that airlines were unable to add further international routes, though they could continue to operate routine flights. CAAT said the ICAO had made the decision after a meeting Friday. "Although lifting the red flag is a significant turning point for her aviation industry, Thailand as well as CAAT need to carry on their missions to improve the aviation safety standards," CAAT said. The biggest beneficiaries would be smaller carriers, such as Thai AirAsia X, NokScoot and Thai Lion. <br/>