Educational Information Only
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Civil Aviation Act Section 42 — Aviation personnel must be licensed
Act on Civil Aviation of Thailand (พระราชบัญญัติการเดินอากาศ) — Section 42.
Plain-English Summary
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.
Official Text
Official Thai text at the Royal Gazette / Office of the Council of State. Translation summary only.
Consult official sourceParent Statute
Act on Civil Aviation of Thailand
พระราชบัญญัติการเดินอากาศ · B.E. 2497 (1954)
The Act on Civil Aviation of Thailand (Air Navigation Act) B.E. 2497 (1954), as substantially amended, regulates Thai civil aviation: aircraft registration and nationality, airworthiness, personnel licensing, air operator certification, civil aviation business licensing, aerodromes and accident investigation. It is administered through the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand, which is established by separate legislation; a 2015 Emergency Decree amending this Act restructured civil aviation administration following International Civil Aviation Organization recommendations and dissolved the former Department of Civil Aviation. The Act gives the Authority's Director most day-to-day licensing and safety powers, with a Civil Aviation Board overseeing the Authority and the economic regulation of airlines. Pilotless aircraft need ministerial permission (Section 24); the Act itself contains no separate drone code.
The summary above is a plain-English educational paraphrase of Section 42 of the Act on Civil Aviation of Thailand. It is not an authoritative translation. For the binding Thai text, consult the Royal Gazette or the Office of the Council of State. Educational use only — not a substitute for advice from a Thai-qualified lawyer.
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