A preliminary meeting of representatives of airlines currently operating in the Maldives was held today at the MEGA Maldives Airlines Head Office to discuss the formal establishment of a Board of Airline Representatives.
A Board of Airline Representatives is an international standard in the global aviation world, and brings together airlines operating in a given country. The Maldives presently does not have a collective body of airline representatives, and this preliminary meeting was designed to bring all representatives together to chart a way forward in formally establishing such a body.
Based on the recommendations from the International Air Transport Association (IATA) and the Maldives Civil Aviation Authority (MCAA), the Board of Airline Representatives would work to further the interests of its member airlines, to provide an effective platform for cooperation between the airlines and the Government, the regulator and other entities, to educate key decision makers on aviation related matters, to create greater public awareness and to conduct research and analysis into decisions affecting the aviation sector.
The meeting was attended today by representatives of over 15 airlines, which together represent over 90% of the passengers who fly into the country. This included the four airlines registered in the Maldives (Maldivian, Trans Maldivian Airways, MEGA Maldives Airlines, and FlyMe). All attending parties agreed that such a body was needed to strengthen the aviation sector, and agreed to work together in moving forward. A steering committee comprising of 9 airlines was set up to oversee the establishment of the Board within the first half of 2017.
