Nok Air announces more flight cancellations

PHUKET: Nok Air is cancelling an additional 56 flights per day until March 26, according to Ampawan Wannako, deputy director-general of the Department of Civil Aviation.

The company has submitted a notice to the department, blaming the cancellations on a shortage of pilots.

The budget airline earlier said it would resume all cancelled flights from Friday onwards, after it had canceled more than 500 since February 14 (story here).

Staff at the Nok Air office at Phuket International Airport refused to confirm whether any Phuket-bound flights were affected by the cancellations. The Gazette’s calls to the Nok Air headquarters in Bangkok were answered only with automated messages.

Chief Executive Officer Patee Sarasin yesterday morning posted a message on the airline’s Facebook page saying: “No need to say much … Action speaks louder than words.”

Nok Air passengers affected by the cancellations will be transferred to other airlines, as Nok Air cleans up its internal problems, along with preparing flight slots for the new season starting next month, Ms Ampawan said.

Meanwhile, Thai Airways International said that it had recently held a professional workshop highlighting pilot careers, in which about 400 people participated, including senior-high-school students, their parents, and interested members of the public.

Similar workshops have been held in the past several years at various universities. This year, about 2,000 people have expressed interest and participated in such workshops.

— The Nation