Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation Mohamed Ameen has said that the hope is to get a better result than before from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) Safety Audit. The Ministry of Transport states that the ongoing ICAO Safety Audit is being conducted after 11 years. The International Civil Aviation Organization’s “Universal Safety Oversight Safety Audit Program” is an audit conducted to check if air transport safety and security in countries are in line with international standards.
As this audit is being conducted after 11 years, Minister Mohamed Ameen has met with the team related to it. In a social media post regarding the meeting with the team, the Minister said that he shared the policies of President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu for advancing this sector with the team. And the Minister said that the hope is to achieve a better result from this audit than the result obtained previously.
In a statement to PSM News, Minister Ameen said that the previous ICAO Safety Audit resulted in 54% for the Maldives. Along with this, the Minister said that they are aiming to achieve a better result from this audit. “It is the government’s desire to bring this standard to 75 or 80. When looking to do that, the legislation part was low in the assessment. The Civil Aviation Act within the legal framework. It is proceeding in the parliament with high importance given,” said the Minister.
Along with the legal changes needed, the Minister noted that the investigation of air transport accidents and issues has been changed to be done by a special agency. The “Maldives Transportation Safety Board” established under a Presidential Decree has now begun its work. As such, the investigation of various incidents and accidents in the air transport sector has now been transferred under the board.
“The documents now submitted to ICAO will state that this part has been separated from Civil Aviation. This had to be done to assess and analyze the issues before aircraft accidents and other dangerous incidents occur, take necessary measures, and also give recommendations to Civil Aviation,” said Minister Mohamed Ameen.
The ICAO Safety Audit will be conducted from the 11th to the 23rd of this month. This audit will evaluate and score how air transport matters are organized legally, administratively, and in other technical aspects. The government continues to work on advancing this sector. As such, Civil Aviation has been restructured and changes have been made to address challenges in the sector.”
