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Bulletin
Fifth Meeting of the Flight Operations Component of the
Southeast Asia Regional Aviation Safety Team (SEARAST)
Bangkok, Thailand, 29-30 August 2005
and
Joint Meeting of Southeast Asia Regional Aviation Safety Team (SEARAST)
with
North Asia Regional Aviation Safety Team (NARAST)
Bangkok, Thailand, 31 August 2005
- Purpose of Meetings
The SEARAST meeting will focus on and review the progress of the Safety Interventions that have thus far been implemented, CAST/JSSI Safety Enhancements completed and others which require implementation.
The joint Regional Aviation Safety Team (RAST) meeting will be held immediately after the SEARAST meeting and immediately prior to the NARAST meeting to enable the full participation of both teams. The schedule and featured events for the Combined RAST will be forwarded at a later date.
- Who Should Attend
As in the past, the success of SEARAST will depend upon close cooperation between regulators and industry. Invitations are thus extended to representatives from each COSCAP-SEA Member State/Administrative Region, Associate Members, Industry Partners, and to representatives from the major national airline(s) of each State/Administrative Region which conduct scheduled, international commercial air transport. To keep the size of the meeting manageable and to ensure that adequate seating is available, attendance will be limited to a maximum of two representatives from each regulatory authority and two representatives from each airline. To the maximum extent possible, Team Members from the regulators and from airlines should be the same persons who attended the previous SEARAST meeting in April 2004.
- Schedule of Meeting
The opening session of the SEARAST meeting will begin at 0900 hours on Monday, 29 August 2005 in the ICAO Conference Facility in the Kotaite Wing of the ICAO Asia and Pacific Regional Office. Registration will begin at 0815 hours. A tentative agenda will be sent to you shortly.
The ICAO Regional Office is located at 252/1 Vipavadee Rangsit Road, Ladyao, Chatuchak, Bangkok, next to the Petroleum Authority of Thailand (PTT) and opposite the Central Plaza Hotel. It is about 12 kilometers from the Bangkok International Airport and also about 12 kilometers from the major hotels on Sukhumvit Road.
- Registration of Participants
Participants are requested to register at the Registration Desk in the front of the Conference Facility between 0815 and 0845 hours on the opening day. While inside the ICAO building, participants are requested to wear the identification badge which will be issued to them.
- Passport and Visa
All foreign nationals entering Thailand must possess valid passports or other valid documents for travel. Participants from certain countries, including all members of ASEAN, are not required to obtain visas for a temporary visit not exceeding 15 days. For other visitors, temporary visas for a period of 15 days may be issued upon arrival at the airport.
- Hotel Reservations, Arrival and Departure
Information showing the address, fax number, room rate, etc., of hotels is shown in Annex 1. Participants should arrange their own hotel accommodations well in advance, and ensure that their return flight bookings are confirmed soon after their arrival in Bangkok.
Given budgetary and staffing limitations, it is not possible to meet participants at the airport on arrival. Participants are therefore requested to make their own arrangements for transportation from the airport to the city. In case of difficulty encountered outside office hours, please contact Capt. Allendorfer on 0 7971 6629 (mobile phone).
Thai Airways International and Airport Taxi Services operate private limousine services from the airport to downtown Bangkok at about Baht 650 per vehicle. Thai International also operates a coach service from the airport to the city terminal at Baht 100 per person. Public taxi service is also available at a cost of about Baht 300 at the taxi stand at the airport. The Bangkok Mass Transit Authority operates an Airport Bus service to the city center. Route A3 operates to and from the Ambassador Hotel, Sukhumvit Road.
When departing Bangkok, the hotel can arrange for transportation to the airport. Taxis less expensive than hotel taxis are also available. Most taxis have a fare meter, however, most require negotiation of the fare between town and airport.
For passengers departing on international flights, a passenger service charge of Baht 500 is levied at the airport.
- Other Useful Information
Time in Thailand is 7 hours ahead of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC+7).
International credit cards such as American Express, Diners Club, Visa, Mastercard, Carte Blanche, etc., are normally accepted at major hotels and department stores.
All commercial banks exchange major foreign currencies and are open from 0830 to 1530 from Monday through Friday and some keep the foreign exchange counter open until 2000 hours on week days. Foreign exchange counters operated by various commercial banks are located at several places in the city and are also open on Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays from 1000 to 2000. To change traveler’s checks, you are required to show your passport.
Most hotels add a 10% service charge to the room rate in addition to the government tax of 7%. Baggage boys at hotels expect a small tip. At restaurants, a tip of about 10% is expected unless a service charge has been added to the bill.
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