Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT), via its official Facebook account, announced (11-Mar-2025) the US FAA conducted a final inspection as part of a process aiming to upgrade Thailand's aviation safety rating to Category 1. CAAT said the US FAA will announce a final result within 30 days. As previously reported by CAPA, the US FAA downgraded Thailand to Category 2 in 2015 due to non-compliance with ICAO standards. Thailand had previously held a Category 1 rating since 1997. Regaining the status would also enable Thai carriers to launch new routes to the US and participate in codeshare agreements with US based carriers.
Background ✨
The US FAA conducted a five-day audit in November 2024, identifying only minor adjustments needed for Thailand's aviation safety compliance, with a final report and discussion scheduled for late February 20251. Thailand's Transport Minister noted that direct services to the US were anticipated to resume by February 2025, contingent on achieving the Category 1 safety rating1.