The latest, if you are a foreign license holder and wish to exercise your skills and privileges in Thailand, is that before being issued with the Thai License, you must now sit the Thai Aviation Law exam and also answer some questions on 'Human Performance'.
I have no doubt that this new requirement is, in some, way related to the fact that the Commander of the ill-fated One-2-Go flight was not a Thai.
The Thai CAA already uses the JAR verification system that (for a fee) we expatriate pilots set up for them with our various licensing authorities. It seems that now this is not enough.
Pretty insulting really, particularly for those of us who hold JAR licenses and who undergo a bi-annual 'revalidation' check by a JAR accredited instructor (which we can't do in Thailand!) and which includes revision of Air Law and Human Performance.
I went back to the UK to get my CAA/JAR PPL revalidated last November. Now I'm back in Thailand and instead of the 'same day service' I'm used to when getting my Thai license renewed, I have been waiting for more than 6 weeks and with no clear indication as to whether I shall ever be granted a Thai license again.
The real stupidity is that, without a Thai license, I can't fly at all even with an instructor in the right hand seat.
Gee, thanks Udom!!
When will rich and (in their minds only) influential Thai's finally learn that pushing the boundaries for their own selfish ends just screws it all up for everyone? Strange that it never seems to screw it up for them though.