KUALA LUMPUR - According to The Nation, Thailand’s Supreme Administrative Court has ruled that foreign pilots are no longer allowed to operate domestic flights under wet-lease agreements.

The ruling, published in the Royal Gazette on January 30, was a Labour Ministry announcement that had allowed foreign flight crews to work on domestic routes.

The decision ends a long legal dispute between the Thai Pilots Association and the Ministry of Labour.

The case focused on a Cabinet resolution approved in December 2024 that allowed airlines to bypass normal labour rules through wet leases.

Wet leases allow airlines to hire aircraft together with foreign pilots and crew for a limited period.

The policy was introduced as a temporary move to boost domestic tourism but faced strong opposition from local pilots.

The Thai Pilots Association argued that the policy weakened the legal protection of pilots as a reserved occupation for Thai nationals.

At the time the case was filed, Thai Vietjet was the only airline using the exemption, operating two Airbus A320 aircraft with foreign crews.

In its ruling, the court said the Labour Ministry had acted beyond its legal authority.

The court noted that under the 2017 Royal Decree on the Management of Foreign Workers, exemptions are allowed only for national security, economic protection or disaster prevention.

It ruled that approving exemptions to meet the commercial needs of a private airline did not meet those legal conditions.