Nok Air has come under increasing pressure over the weekend as online photos revealed no social distancing on their flights. The carrier was the only airline continuing to operate in April as the rest of the country shut down to limit the coronavirus outbreak.
The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) said on Monday that there is nothing they can do about Nok Air’s operation but could punish them going forward as the new health and safety guidelines from CAAT only came out last Thursday.
“The previous social distancing guideline was only a guideline because we assessed that the number of passengers was still small,” CAAT director-general Chula Sukmanop said on Monday. “Now that everyone is looking to resume operations, we have come up with the new rules.”
He said the photos, which showed two flights that were full of people sitting and queuing next to each other, looks crowded because they were taken during weekend flights when there are usually more passengers.
“Nok Air will now be under social pressure. I have talked to them since Saturday and they have accepted the warning and they said they will improve,” he said. “We have agreed on the new rules and they should abide by it now where further action could be taken if they do not.”
Under the new rules, social distancing must be observed from the check-in line until the end of the flight.
Passengers cannot sit next to each other on the bigger planes while the number of seats on a small plane will be reduced from 70 seats to 49 seats. Passengers will also be required to wear face masks at all times.
Photo Credit: Charoen Joo Mookachonpan
