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(Air Operator Certification Process – TCAR OPS)

Introduction

If Thailand is the principal place of business and the intention is to operate an aircraft for the purpose of Public transport/Commercial Air Transport, an approval from the Minister of Transport for a Civil Air Operating License (CAOL) will be required as per the Notification of the Ministry of Transport for Criteria and Condition for granting licensing to Air Operation Business B.E. 2559. The applicant shall obtain the Civil Air Operating License (CAOL) prior to commencing either scheduled or non-scheduled air services within Thailand and is required by the Regulations of Thailand to hold an Air Operator Certificate (AOC) before the anticipated start of operations.

Regulations

The requirements for holding an Air Operator Certificate (AOC) in Thailand are specified by:

Thailand Air Navigation Act B.E. 2497
Regulation of the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand No. 26 on the Air Operator Certificate
Regulation of the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand No. 27 on the Operation of Air Operator Certificate holder
Notification of The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand Re: Thailand Civil Aviation Regulation – Air Operations (TCAR OPS)
Notification of The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand Re: Acceptable Means of Compliance and Guidance Material: AMC/GM
The Announcement of the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand Re: Certification Fees Issued under the Authority of the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand B.E. 2561

AOC Initial Certification Process

In cases where an applicant needs to apply for the AOC Initial Certification Process while awaiting approval after submitting the CAOL application, Article 5 of the Regulation of the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand No. 26 on the Air Operator Certificate stipulates:

“An entity eligible to apply for an Air Operator Certificate shall be a legally recognized Thai organization holding an Air Operator License for conducting commercial air transport services. If such an entity, eligible for an Air Operator Certificate, has previously applied for authorization to conduct a Civil Air Operating License (CAOL) and now seeks an Air Operator Certificate (AOC), the Director-General may authorize the early submission of the Air Operator Certificate application.”

Prior to initiating the AOC certification process, it is necessary to comprehend the criteria and the process for evaluating the management system of applicants. This evaluation demonstrates readiness before advancing to the Air Operator Certificate (AOC) Certification Process, which is conducted in parallel with the Civil Air Operating License (CAOL) approval process.

Initial Management System Assessment Process (IMSA)

It is important to note that the Initial Management System Assessment Process (IMSA) process could occur concurrently after the CAOL Application has been submitted to the Economic Regulations Department (ERD). This is considered the stage prior to the commencement of the pre-application phase (Phase 1) and, potentially, the formal application phase (Phase 2), depending on ERD’s progress in assessing the financial, economic, and legal status of the applicant and their proposed operation.
However, the financial assessment process must be satisfied by ERD, and the CAOL must be granted to the AOC Applicant prior to the issuance of a formal acceptance letter to proceed with the next phase, which is Document Evaluation (Phase 3).

Note:
This process is applicable specifically to applicants intending to initiate the AOC certification process prior to obtaining approval for the Civil Air Operating License (CAOL).

Application and Documents for IMSA

In cases where an applicant intends to initiate the AOC certification process prior to obtaining approval for the CAOL, the applicant shall complete and submit the document for applying IMSA to CAAT. The mandatory documents to submit are listed below:

CAAT-OPS-TCFM-108 Management System Assessment for Compliance Monitoring System (CMS)
CAAT-OPS-TCFM-109 Management System Assessment for Safety Monitoring System (SMS)
CAAT-OPS-TCFM-110 Management Personnel Assessment

The AOC Initial Certification Process consists of five phases:

Phase 1: Pre-Application

The applicant must engage in preliminary discussions with CAAT and submit initial documents, including:

An intention letter to apply for an AOC
CAAT-OPS-TCFM-101: Application for Air Operator Certificate
CAAT-OPS-TCFM-102: Application for Operations Specifications
CAAT-OPS-TCFM-103: Organization and Contents of an Operations Manual
Business Operations Plan
Financial Economic and Legal Matters Assessment
Civil Air Operating License (CAOL) (if avialable)

Phase 2: Formal Application Phase

The formal application must be submitted at least 180 days before the anticipated start of revenue operations. The applicant shall submit below documents through EMPIC for applying Air Operator Certificate by CAAT. Required documents include:

CAAT-OPS-TCFM-101: Application for Air Operator Certificate
CAAT-OPS-TCFM-102: Application for Operations Specifications
CAAT-OPS-TCFM-103: Organization and Contents of an Operations Manual
Compliance Lists for various TCAR OPS parts
- CAAT-OPS-TCCL-101 : Compliance List for Aeroplane, TCAR OPS Part ORO
- CAAT-OPS-TCCL-102 : Compliance List for Aeroplane, TCAR OPS Part CAT
- CAAT-OPS-TCCL-103 : Compliance List for Aeroplane, TCAR OPS Part SPA (if applicable)
- CAAT-OPS-TCCL-104 : Compliance List for Aeroplane AOC TCAR OPS Part IDE.A (if applicable)
- CAAT-OPS-TCCL-105 : Compliance List for Helicopter AOC TCAR OPS Part CAT.IDE.H (if applicable)
CAAT-OPS-TCFM-106: Application for Nomination for Air Operator Personnel Form
CAAT-OPS-TCFM-107: Schedule of Event Form (SOE)
Manuals and/or Document as described in the Regulation of the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand No. 26 (item 6)

Phase 3: Document Evaluation

All submitted documents will be thoroughly evaluated to ensure they meet the required standards and requirements.

Phase 4: Demonstration and Inspection Phase

The applicant must demonstrate compliance with regulations and safe operating practices. This includes training, ground handling, maintenance, proving flights and evaluation of the organization’s structure and operations.

Phase 5: Certification Phase

Upon satisfactory completion of all demonstrations and evaluations, CAAT will issue the Air Operator Certificate (AOC) and its applicable Operations Specifications. The certificate is valid for five years from the date of issue.

Download Application Form

Important Information

Details of certification fee can be found in the Announcement of the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand Re: Certification Fees Issued under the Authority of the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand B.E. 2561.
The total duration for the process is not less than 152-192 working days, depending on the applicant’s ability to meet the required standards.
The estimated time frame does not include the duration for correction of incomplete documents, proposal of corrective action plans (CAP), and implementation of corrective actions (closing actions) by the applicant.

Contact Us

For more information on the application process for an air operator certificate, please contact:

Flight Operations Standards Department (OPS)
The Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand
222 Soi Vibhavadi Rangsit 28, Vibhavadi Rangsit Road, Chatuchak, Bangkok, Thailand 10900
TEL: 02-568-8800 ext. 8843
Mobile: 063-205-8843
Email: [email protected]