Fiji launches first National Aviation Safety Plan

Fiji has launched its first National Aviation Safety Plan, setting out priorities to strengthen aviation safety and align the country’s aviation system with global standards.

Civil Aviation Authority of Fiji (CAAF) chief executive Theresa Levestam launched the plan during the CAAF/Fiji National University Aviation Open Day in Nadi on Friday.

The plan aligns Fiji’s aviation system with the global safety framework of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO).

Ms Levestam said the plan was developed through collaboration between CAAF and its industry partners and was not solely a regulator’s plan.

“Behind every flight is a system of people, of standards, of training and oversight working together to make sure that every passenger arrives safely,” she said.

“Much of that work is invisible, but it is the foundation on which public trust is built.”

The launch coincided with the Aviation Open Day, which also aimed to encourage students to consider careers in the industry.

The event was organised by CAAF and Fiji National University (FNU).

Ms Levestam said aviation could often appear to be an industry beyond the reach of many people, but the event aimed to change that perception.

Students were introduced to career opportunities including pilots, engineers, air traffic controllers, cabin crew, flight procedure designers, aviation security personnel, flight caterers, aviation lawyers and safety inspectors.

“These people all have different roles, but they all share one thing in common – they all started from where you are today,” she said.

Ms Levestam said her own aviation career began with an opportunity to see what was possible.

“The National Aviation Safety Plan describes the future we want Fiji’s aviation system to be. But that future will not be delivered by this document. It will be delivered by people,” she said.

“The next generation of aviation professionals and industry leaders are sitting in the high schools and universities. Some of them are sitting in this very room.”

Ms Levestam said the safety plan and Aviation Open Day represented two sides of the same effort – strengthening Fiji’s aviation system and developing the people who would lead it in the future.

“Fiji’s aviation story is still being written, and some of you will be writing the next chapter,” she said.