The Civil Aviation Authority of Fiji (CAAF) is the civil aviation authority in the Republic of Fiji and is responsible for discharging functions on behalf of the Government of Fiji under the States responsibility to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, also known as the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). CAAF regulates the activities of airport operators, air traffic control and air navigation service providers, airline operators, pilots and air traffic controllers, aircraft engineers, technicians, airports, airline contracting organisations and international air cargo operators in Fiji.
The agency's head office is at Nadi Airport in Nadi.
History of the 1999 CAAF Reform
Background to Reform
The reform of the Civil Aviation Authority of Fiji (CAAF) is a case which illustrates the impact of both political and trade union activities on the reform process. At the time of its reorganization in 1999, its employees were members of the Fiji Public Service Association (FPSA). Many of the CAAF workers were opposed to the restructuring plans and the job losses that were a central part of the reform.
The CAAF was a statutory body established by the CAAF Act of 1979. Apart from providing regulatory oversight for domestic civil aviation and fulfilling international air safety obligations, it also owned and managed Nadi International Airport, as well as managing the Nausori Airport near Suva and the 23 small domestic airports located on many islands with low populations. In addition, it provided aviation support services to the region.
The CAAF functioned like a government department, but had a mixture of statutory responsibilities and commercial obligations. Effectively, it was a referee and a player in its own game. For the 20 years prior to the restructuring, it had been making annual profits. This was largely because its annual revenue growth was directly linked to the expansion of the international tourism industry in Fiji. Income was derived from landing and parking fees, air navigation charges, passenger service charges, terminal building concessions and rentals, fuel concessions, and the sale of excess power. It was exempt from income tax until the reform. Only minor investments were made into infrastructure. It received heavy financial assistance in the form of an annual government grant to run Nausori airport and the other loss-making airports.
Yet the government realised that the CAAF was inefficient, overstaffed and overburdened by bureaucracy. Its staff members' unions were in constant dispute with the management and the unions strongly resisted any changes to work practices. Two reviews of the CAAF had recommended non-core activities be divested to other organisations. In the late 1990s, processes were introduced to improve efficiency through a continuous quality improvement programme.
Division into Statutory Authority and Company
In April 1997, the then Minister for Public Enterprises, Isimeli Bose announced that the CAAF was to be declared a "commercial statutory authority" and, in May, he said it would be reorganised pursuant to provisions of the public enterprise reform legislation. Subsequently, a reorganisation charter was prepared. The principal objective of the reorganisation was to increase the CAAF's efficiency and rate of return on assets, while at the same time providing an efficient regulatory function that meets international civil aviation standards (MCICP 1998c).
The reorganisation, facilitated by the Civil Aviation Reform Act 1999, involved separating the CAAF's regulatory role from its commercial operations. The commercial responsibilities and assets were transferred to a new company, Airports Fiji Ltd (AFL), which was established as a "government commercial company". It was incorporated under the Companies Act and required to operate along commercial lines, with clearly defined profitability targets and with new terms and conditions of employment. The main functions prescribed were the provision of air traffic management in Fiji and its flight information region; the management of airport commercial assets (the aerodromes, terminal buildings, commercial properties and infrastructure necessary for commercial activities); and the administration and management of airports as commercial businesses.