PM Salwai opens ASPA General Assembly

Vanuatu’s Prime Minister, Charlot Salwai, has urged airlines of the South Pacific region to start a proper and formal system of succession planning if they have not already done so.

Giving the keynote address at the opening of the 65th Association of South Pacific Airlines (ASPA) General Assembly at the Holiday Inn in Port Vila Wednesday morning Prime Minister Salwai said: “The Theme of this conference is Succession Planning, and I think this is very timely for our airlines to start, if they have not done so, a proper and formal system of succession planning.”

He said this would ensure that locals already in the airlines were “appropriately trained and developed to take up more responsible tasks in the near future and this will be good for the airline and for the country.”

The Prime Minister then went on to directly address the management of Air Vanuatu about Government’s concerns for the operations of the national airline.

He emphasized two points why the Government was investing in Air Vanuatu: 1. to train national professional pilots and 2.to create employment for ni-Vanuatu professional pilots.

“However, the Government is concerned that well trained ni-Vanuatu professional pilots are unemployed or terminated without valid reasons and replaced by foreign Eastern European pilots only to complete their hours while they have no experience and knowledge about the region.

“It is sad to see pilots becoming bus and taxi drivers,” he stressed.

“Of concern also is the loss in revenue due to flight schedules and no regular services,” the Vanuatu Prime Minister stated adding: “I’m disappointed in the current operations management as the main shareholder, and in the current management structure of Air Vanuatu.”

Every year ASPA meets twice – in May and in October, and each time selects a topic as the focus for discussions, and in May this year the forum discussed environment and its relation to international aviation.

“I believe every sector of our economy should be concerned with the environment, especially for this region, as we have been witnessing the effects of climate change in our respective countries in recent years.

“Cyclones are becoming regular events with much stronger winds and floods and earthquakes followed by tsunamis in the islands.

“These have negative impacts not only to those affected but also on aviation and tourism when the necessary infrastructures are destroyed.”

The Vanuatu PM said he was aware that airlines of ASPA were facing many challenges in operating in the region with limited resources and a wide range of standards of services and facilities such as airport runways, navigation equipment and security. He accepted that these were some of the areas many governments of the region struggle with as they balanced limited resources and the need to attend to urgent needs.

“Nevertheless, I am sure governments are always conscious of the need to upgrade facilities and to ensure airlines operate in an acceptable level of safety.”

PM Salwai cited fairness in bilateral air services agreement that provided fair and equal opportunities to airlines of the parties concerned and Upper Space Management and its fair distribution of driven revenue were matters of concern within some governments of the region. He stressed that the issue of Upper Space Management was a matter of the sovereignty of each nation and that each country had the right to get what it was entitled to from that resource and if not then that they had the right to choose another “Management”.

The membership of ASPA is composed of 13 airlines and 44 industry partners. Many of the industry partners are in this two-day meeting. They include the two largest aircraft manufacturers – Boeing and Airbus, the remaining three manufacturers of regional gets and turbo props – Embraer, Bombardier and ATR, engine manufacturers, aircraft and engine leasing companies, maintenance repair organizations, insurance brokers, airports, air navigation providers, aeronautical telecommunication providers, global distribution systems, ground handling agencies and aviation training institutions.

Also represented – the region’s Forum Island Secretariat, the South Pacific Tourism Organization and the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

The 65th ASPA General Session from October 12-13 hosted by Vanuatu through Air Vanuatu carries the theme ‘Succession Planning-Management of the Human Resources’.