Originally Posted by
chimbu warrior
Not strictly correct. Another state (country) can stop an airline operating into their country, but ICAO has no such “power”.
In terms of PX management there are some very capable people there, including Granger Narara, one of the COO’s mentioned. I know nothing of the current CEO, but certainly in flight ops there are several fit and proper persons.
CASA PNG are not exactly perfect either, and so should take a good look in the mirror before casting aspersions on others. A USOAP audit (conducted by ICAO) is focussed on the regulator, not any individual operator.
As previously mentioned, IOSA are not a regulator and cannot “ground” an operator. They can issue findings as a result of an audit, and then the airline has 3 or 4 months to acquit those findings. Should that not occur, then the airline’s IOSA accreditation lapses. That is all.
Air Niugini is not perfect, but neither are many other IOSA carriers. The overall focus has always been on a safe and compliant operation, despite political interference. In a particularly challenging environment this has been accomplished for over 50 years.
Point taken and post reworded slightly to indicate that the EFFECT of an ICAO audit indicating the regulator has lost control can shut down international flights. Example - Sierra Leone, total worldwide ban (not sure if still the case, but certainly was). Indonesia - banned (for a while) in many European countries…etc. Adjoining countries can stop overflights and others can deny landing rights.
The decline of aviation standards in PNG is a great shame. There was a time when it had quite an astounding safety record, despite the operating conditions being some of the most demanding anywhere. The impression I got during re-visiting the place about 10 years ago was that airfields, nav aids and maintenance facilities had gone badly downhill since the golden days of the sixties and seventies. It was only the dedication of pilots and engineers that was keeping the joint at least partially functional. The regulator wasn’t doing any meaningful oversight, so the cowboys had come out to play.
It seems it hasn’t got better in the last 10 years.