Act on Civil Aviation of Thailand

Defines the terms the rest of the Act relies on. An 'aircraft' includes every machine that supports itself in the atmosphere through the reaction of the air, except objects exempted by ministerial regulation. A 'transport aircraft' is one used or intended to carry goods or passengers for commercial reward, and a 'personal aircraft' is one used for purposes other than commercial reward. 'Aviation personnel' (ผู้ประจำหน้าที่) covers pilots, navigators, mechanics, radio operators, air traffic controllers, flight operations officers and others named by regulation; the Act separately defines a 'crew member' (สมาชิกลูกเรือ) as anyone the operator assigns to a duty on board. The 'Director' is the director of the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand under the law on that Authority, and the 'Convention' is the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation of 7 December B.E. 2487 (1944).

The Civil Aviation Board supervises the work of the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand so that it is timely, correct and complete under the law and under the Convention and its annexes. Its listed powers include setting national civil aviation policy and approving the national safety plan, the national civil aviation security plan and the national facilitation plan; setting policy to protect passengers and users of aviation services; giving its consent to civil aviation business licences under Section 41/125; setting the method for calculating fares and cargo rates and the maximum rates under Section 41/130; and consenting to the Director's regulations. Under Section 15/1 the Board may summon the Director and staff and, where the Authority acts in a way that may damage national security or civil aviation, order it to suspend or correct the action.

Aircraft registrants, air operators, air navigation service providers, aviation personnel, persons on board, holders of a public aerodrome operating certificate and anyone else subject to the Act must act for safety in accordance with the Director's regulations. Air operators, public aerodrome certificate holders and operators in licensed aerodromes are responsible for supervising compliance with the national civil aviation security plan and the national civil aviation safety plan. Section 21/1 requires the Authority to prepare the national civil aviation safety plan and to review it every year. Section 75 sets the penalty for breach.

No one may control or release an aircraft that has no pilot, or drop a parachute, unless the Minister has given written permission and the person complies with the conditions the Minister sets. This is the only provision in the main body dealing with pilotless aircraft; the Act has no separate drone registration, weight-class or pilot-competence rules, though its general provisions on aircraft (such as restricted areas and registration) can still apply. Acting without the written permission is an offence under Section 78(1): imprisonment of up to one year, a fine of up to 40,000 baht, or both; breaching the conditions of a permission instead carries a fine of up to 50,000 baht under Section 67/20.

Under Section 30 an aircraft may be registered by its owner, or by a possessor who is not the owner with the Director's permission. Section 31 then requires the registrant, whether an individual or a juristic person, to have Thai nationality. A general partnership needs all partners to be Thai; a limited partnership needs all unlimited-liability partners to be Thai and at least 51 per cent of its capital held by Thai individuals; a limited or public company must have no bearer shares, a majority of Thai directors, and at least 51 per cent of its shares held by Thai individuals, government bodies, or companies that they in turn hold at 51 per cent or more (or other juristic persons named by ministerial regulation). Partnerships and companies must be registered under Thai law with their head office in the Kingdom; associations must be registered under Thai law, be based in the Kingdom and have their rules approved by the Director.

Every aircraft used for air navigation in the Kingdom must hold a certificate of airworthiness (Section 41/61). There are two forms. The standard certificate is for aircraft used to carry people or goods (including animals) and built to a standard type certificate. The special certificate has four categories: aircraft used for purposes other than carrying people or goods; aircraft used for test flights to obtain a type certificate or supplemental type certificate; aircraft used for temporary purposes under a provisional type certificate; and aircraft used for specific purposes that need no type certificate. A certificate is issued only to a registered aircraft that is safe for the stated purpose.

No one may use an aircraft for commercial air transport unless the Director has issued an air operator certificate. Under Section 41/112 the Director issues the certificate to an applicant who shows safety management standards for commercial air transport at least equal to the minimum standards in the Director's regulations. Operating without the certificate is an offence under Section 67/14(6).

An applicant must be a juristic person of Thai nationality that has been authorised to carry on commercial air transport, and must meet other qualifications set by the Director. An applicant cannot be a company whose air operator certificate was revoked less than five years ago, or one whose directors or managers are the same persons as directors or managers of such a company. The Director may allow an applicant who has already applied for the commercial air transport licence to apply for the certificate in parallel where it is ready to operate and there is good reason.

Anyone carrying on a civil aviation business listed in Section 41/124 (commercial air transport, aerial work, general aviation as the Civil Aviation Board determines, and other businesses it determines) needs a licence from the Minister, with the Board's approval. The Minister may attach conditions, and the qualifications, prohibited characteristics, application and renewal procedure, form and licence period are set by the Board's regulations. Section 41/126 separately requires a foreign operator of commercial air transport to hold a certificate issued by the civil aviation authority of a country that has an air services agreement with Thailand, be designated under that agreement, and be authorised by the Director. Operating without a licence is an offence under Section 67/14(7).

No one may act as aviation personnel (ผู้ประจำหน้าที่: pilots, navigators, mechanics, radio operators, air traffic controllers, flight operations officers and others named by regulation) unless licensed by a competent official under the Act, or holding a licence issued by a state party to the Convention or a state with an agreement with Thailand and validated by a competent official. Personnel on a Thai-registered aircraft must hold a licence from a competent official under the Act. The qualifications in Section 44 include Thai nationality and good conduct, with age, health, knowledge and skill set by regulation; the Director may, in specific cases and under criteria the Minister announces, waive the Section 44 qualifications, including the Thai-nationality requirement. The licence categories themselves are left to the Director's regulations, not the Act.

No one may establish an aerodrome or an air navigation facility unless a competent official has granted permission with the Minister's approval; application and issue are governed by ministerial regulation (Section 52). Section 53 separately requires permission from a competent official to establish a temporary landing area for aircraft. Section 17 prohibits aircraft from using any place to take off or land other than a licensed aerodrome or a licensed or designated temporary landing area.

A licensed aerodrome or licensed temporary landing area may be opened to the public only after the Director has issued a public aerodrome operating certificate. The certificate is issued by category under ministerial regulation, taking into account the site, the size of the aircraft using it, the number of passengers and the type of flight. The owner or operator applies to the Director with the aerodrome operating manual and supporting documents (Section 60/2). Opening an aerodrome to the public without the certificate is an offence under Section 67/14(9).

Investigations by the Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation Committee are carried out to obtain information that improves air navigation safety and prevents similar accidents, and not to blame or assign liability to anyone in any way. The Committee has power to investigate accidents and serious incidents in the Kingdom and, in listed cases, those involving Thai-registered aircraft outside it. The investigation must be conducted separately from judicial and other agencies' investigations that aim to identify the person responsible. Section 64/8 requires the Committee to act independently and free of interference, and Section 64/10 requires registrants, owners, operators, aviation personnel, repair stations, air traffic service providers and aerodrome operators to notify it without delay.

Imprisonment of up to five years, a fine of up to 1,000,000 baht, or both, for acts including: providing air navigation services, manufacturing aircraft or major components, running a repair station, carrying on commercial air transport, carrying on a civil aviation business, or opening an aerodrome to the public without the certificate or licence the Act requires; a foreign operator flying commercial air transport into or out of the Kingdom without complying with Section 41/126(1); and operating or exercising rights in breach of a prohibition order under Sections 67/7 to 67/9. Section 67/15 sets a lesser fine of 50,000 to 500,000 baht plus 10,000 baht per day for breaching the conditions of a certificate or licence.

An aircraft registrant, air operator, air navigation service provider, member of aviation personnel or public aerodrome certificate holder who breaches the first paragraph of Section 21 faces a fine of up to 100,000 baht. Other persons on board or otherwise subject to the Act face a fine of up to 50,000 baht. An air operator, public aerodrome certificate holder, licensed-aerodrome operator or person obliged to follow the security or safety plan who breaches the second paragraph of Section 21 faces imprisonment of up to one year, a fine of up to 200,000 baht, or both.