Foreign pilots will not be allowed to fly domestic flights in Thailand next year if the aircraft shortage subsides, the labour minister says, while the Thai Pilots Association has launched legal action to stop the practice.
Labour Minister Phiphat Ratchakitprakarn said the approval for foreign pilots is still on a temporary basis, with a duration of six months that can be extended for another six months. As the approval was announced in December 2024, the measure can be extended until the end of 2025.
Based on discussions with stakeholders in the Thai aviation sector, he said the airline that requested the approval confirmed to the Ministry of Labour that its aircraft shortage should be resolved next year, if manufacturers deliver new jets as planned.
Mr Phiphat said the measure cannot be extended without another approval from the cabinet, which would lead to another evaluation of local aircraft supply.
He said Thai VietJet uses two aircraft under a so-called wet lease agreement, in which pilots and crew are supplied along with the aircraft. Foreign pilots are used for domestic flights on these aircraft. He said he was unsure about the number of foreign pilots used in total.
The Thai Pilots Association filed a lawsuit on Friday with the Administrative Court, seeking a temporary injunction to prohibit foreign pilots from flying domestic flights.
The cabinet agreed with the proposal for the wet lease arrangement submitted by the Labour Ministry on Dec 3.
Teerawat Angkasakulkiat, president of the Thai Pilots Association, said the court action was crucial as there is no guarantee that the cabinet would not renew the approval granted earlier, particularly if an aircraft shortage is used as a justification again.
The association does not object to wet lease agreements for some airlines, such as Bangkok Airways, which adopted this method to address an insufficient fleet, he said. However, Bangkok Airways only uses those jets and crews for international flights.
Mr Teerawat said the legal action was necessary as the cabinet approval breaches existing laws regarding foreign jobs and air navigation, while potentially impacting 5,000 local pilots, of which 1,700 are unemployed.
The director-general of the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand has yet to sign an approval, which is legally required to allow foreign pilots to operate domestic flights.
As the number of permitted jets under wet lease agreements was not restricted by the approval, there might be more foreign pilots flying domestic routes in the future, said Mr Teerawat.
“It is more convenient for some airlines to import pilots from parent companies instead of hiring local pilots,” he said.
