As Thai Airways International Public Company Limited has received the Statement of Objection and Initiation of Proceedings from the Commission of European Communities (EC) alleging that the company implemented various special surcharges in lieu of fuel surcharges, security surcharges, and war risk surcharges, air cargo shipment charges, and other surcharges, which is against the European Union (EU) law and has affected air cargo consumers. The EC conducted an inquiry into this issue and assessed the degree of loss incurred to consumers, which included the company as well as 25 other air carriers.

Flg. Off. Apinan Sumanaseni, THAI’s President, said that since THAI is the national carrier, with the Thai Government as majority shareholder, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has provided assistance to the company as it is of international significance.  A committee was established concerning this matter, including the Ambassador of Thailand to Brussels, Belgium, who was of assistance in coordinating diplomatic relations matter.  It is anticipated that the results will be reasonable, and hopefully the penalty fee will not be as high as mentioned in the news.  Furthermore, the company has stated that it has consistently maintained a clear-cut policy that the company’s employees and staff, both domestically and internationally, that have been strictly adhered to.