One-Two-Go likely to take off again soon

The Civil Aviation Department's decision to return the licence was based on the airline making improvements to its operations to meet regulations, Vutichai Singhamanee, deputy director-general for safety at the agency, said yesterday.

The department has already returned the certificate of airworthiness to Orient Thai, the sister airline of One-Two-Go, on October 6.

However One-Two-Go has to ex-amine its aircraft and conduct test flights for one hour according to the department's requirements before it could restart commercial flights, he said.

The certificates were withdrawn on July 21, following lack of quality assurance systems on leased aircraft and flight scheduling, which prompted safety concerns for passengers, he said.

All eight MD-80 Series aircraft were grounded for defects when seven pilots of One-Two-Go were suspended.

Orient Thai's training did not follow the manual, and the airline submitted false documentation for the pilots' efficiency tests, the regulator said.

One-Two-Go's safety standards first came into focus when its plane crashed in Phuket last year. Lawyers for the British and US families of the 90 victims are seeking Bt8.32 billion in compensation in US courts in a case that may shed a harsh light on the cost-cutting and safety standards of some low-cost airlines.