Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan said all 41 airlines were told to come up with new recruits in the field of aviation safety within January. There are currently 49 aviation safety experts compared to about 2,100 pilots. The cabinet earlier approved the creation of 86 postings for aviation safety experts and urged airlines to propose a list of the newly-recruited experts to the Civil Aviation Office within a month. Air Chief Marshal Preecha Pradubmook meanwhile said he was confident that Thailand’s aviation safety would pass the assessment of the European Aviation Safety Agency in mid-December. Even if EASA downgrades Thailand’s aviation safety standard, he said the country could appeal the verdict within 18 months to the European Union. General Prawit presided over a meeting of representatives of 41 airlines on Friday during which the attending airlines set new guidelines for the issuance of aviation operating licenses and mete out plan to cope with negative assessment from EASA.