Phuket Air stops Bangkok-Bali service
THAILAND: Phuket Air has stopped its Bangkok-Bali service after passenger numbers slumped following banishment of the airline from Amsterdam and London airports earlier this month for breaches of safety standards.
Sribenja Semmeesook, Communication Consultant of Aziam Burson-Marsteller, which handles public relations for Phuket Air, told the Gazette today, “Many customers from the Netherlands and the rest of Europe used Phuket Air to fly to Bangkok, and then Bangkok to Bali.
“But since the airline was barred from Amsterdam [and London], that hasn’t happened, and the resulting drop in passengers is why Phuket Air has stopped flying to Bali.”
K. Sribenja said one of the problems that had caused the airline to be banned from Amsterdam – faulty emergency lighting – had been fixed the day after the Dutch civil aviation authorities acted against the airline.
As for the other problem – the fact that the Filipino pilot held a medical certificate valid for a year in the Philippines, but which had expired in Holland where six-monthly renewals are required – K. Sribenja said only that the [Filipino] certificate was “not compatible”.
She continued, “As I’m sure you can appreciate, it isn’t all that easy to reinstate routes after being banned – it takes time to fix everything. I’m surprised it has taken as long as it has, though, and I hope we will be allowed to fly into Amsterdam again soon.”
