No action will be taken against Nok Air for the frequent delays to its flights as the flights made up only a small percentage of its total, Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) chief Chula Sukmanop says.
Mr Chula made the remarks after yesterday’s meeting with the airline’s executives to discuss its flight delay problems.
Nok Air is one of several Thai-registered airlines which has had problems with persistent delays. Mr Chula added that Nok Air executives presented information relating to flights between April-September.
Last month, there were 5,140 flights, but only 573 of them or 12% were delayed. The remaining 88% flights were on time, in compliance with normal standards. In light of this, the airline could not be faulted, Mr Chula said.
He said that statistics show that airlines usually experience delayed flights in September due to poor weather resulting from heavy rains.
Under transport regulations, airlines must provide food for passengers if flight delays last two hours or longer.
If delays last more than six hours, this amounts to a flight cancellation, and airlines must arrange other flights for passengers or give passengers refunds or compensation, Mr Chula said. He said Nok Air’s average flight delays were 15 minutes or longer, but did not exceed two hours.
Mr Chula added that the CAAT will not yet issue additional measures to prevent flight delays as the existing ones are sufficient to deal with the problems.
Nok Air chief executive Patee Sarasin said that delays to Nok Air flights at Don Mueang airport were caused by rainstorms, while flights in provinces were mostly delayed by fog.
He said the airline has to first take into account the safety of passengers, adding that other airlines had also experienced delayed flights.
Jill Biden, wife of U.S. vice president, arrives in Cuba
Jill Biden, wife of U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, arrived in Cuba on Thursday, the latest sign of the rapprochement between the Cold War foes that saw President Barack Obama and his family visit in March.
Biden was greeted at Havana’s international airport by Josefina Vidal, who is leading negotiations with the United States as head of U.S. affairs at the Cuban Foreign Ministry.
Biden plans to watch a match between the U.S. and Cuban soccer teams on Friday in Havana, go on social media at one of Cuba's new WiFi hot spots and visit a teachers college, among other activities, according to U.S. diplomatic sources in Havana.
Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues Cathy Russell and Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs Evan Ryan are accompanying Biden, who will also travel to central Camaguey province before heading to the Dominican Republic on Sunday.
A White House statement said Biden, herself an educator, was scheduled to meet with "government officials and engage with a diverse range of Cubans on topics related to culture, education, and health."
The Obamas' visit highlighted the warming trend in bilateral relations announced by both countries in December 2014 after 18 months of secret talks and more than a half-century's estrangement.
Some U.S. lawmakers strongly oppose the move, arguing that Communist-ruled Cuba must do far more to improve human rights before it can deal normally with the United States.
Agreements have been reached in areas such as law enforcement, the environment, resumption of postal service and commercial flights, while talks on such thorny issues as fugitives and reparations continue.
The decades-long U.S. trade embargo on Cuba remains in place and can only be lifted by Congress, although Obama has used his executive authority to chip away at it.
Both sides have said they want to strengthen their economic relationship, but the United States has complained the Cubans have been slow to take advantage of openings carved out by Obama, for example, trade with the private sector, while Cuba says U.S. sanctions make most trade and investment impossible.