FAA downgrades Thailand`s CAA - Curt Lewis

Thai junta chief vows air safety overhaul after U.S. downgrade

BANGKOK - Thailand's junta chief vowed Wednesday to fix the kingdom's airline industry after the United States downgraded the country's air safety rating in an embarrassing blow to the tourist-reliant nation.

The Federal Aviation Administration in a statement late Tuesday said Thailand's civil aviation authority no longer met "minimum international standards," a decision that could hamper the operation of Thai airlines worldwide.

The ruling is a setback to the junta-led government of former army chief turned Prime Minister Prayut Chan-O-Cha, who seized power in a coup last year.

He has blamed successive civilian administrations for failing to tackle safety concerns over the last decade, a period of political turbulence marked by short-lived governments, debilitating street protests and two military coups.

"People in the whole country just kept fighting - no one helped one another," he told reporters Wednesday.

"We have to see what we have to fix and improve."