Last week, the association submitted a letter to the Civil Aviation Authority of Thailand (CAAT) requesting assistance for both tour companies and travellers affected by abrupt flight cancellations, reports the Bangkok Post.
The letter stated that such cancellations and schedule changes do not only impact travellers, but also place a cost burden on tour companies without a fair protection mechanism.
Tour operators have to bear costs already incurred, such as hotels, transport and programme adjustment fees, which in many cases cannot be refunded.
They have to draw on reserved cash flow to refund customers in order to maintain business credibility, even though they have yet to receive refunds from airlines.
Although regulations on passenger rights exist, they cannot be practically enforced to compensate for such damages. There are also insufficient measures to help address the impact on operators as business partners.
Airlines have also failed to clarify the reasons for cancellations, and it is difficult for consumers to verify those actions, the letter said.
This month, Thai and foreign carriers have reduced and suspended several routes to avoid losses from rising fuel prices.
For instance, Thai AirAsia X reduced flights to Tokyo, Osaka, Delhi and Almaty, and suspended services to Shanghai and Riyadh, while Thai AirAsia has reportedly stopped flying to many destinations such as Hong Kong, Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Kathmandu on a temporary basis.
Vietjet Thailand also temporarily suspended flights to Fukuoka across its summer schedule.
China Airlines cancelled flights between Bangkok and Taipei for several days in May, while Air Busan cancelled some flights from Busan to Bangkok and Chiang Mai in the same month.
"We understand that airlines have to optimise their operations to cope with surging fuel prices, but tour operators should not be treated as a buffer to this crisis," said TTAA vice-president Tassanee Kiatkamchornchai.
Refund measures offered by airlines are insufficient, as tour operators have already paid for other costs, such as hotels and transport, said Ms Tassanee.
Many travellers were transferred to other flights, resulting in additional hotel bookings or missed business event opportunities.
The association is urging CAAT and the government to revise the refund measures to cover such additional losses.
In some cases, airlines refunded only in credits, not cash, to be used on future trips, impacting tour operators’ cash flow.
"Some of them are now facing losses from selling programmes with cancelled flights," Ms Tassanee said.