Issue link: https://maltatoday.uberflip.com/i/1175418
10.10.19 10 INTERVIEW Malta must exploit the potential of helicopters, MASSIMO COSTA What do your duties as Director General of the Civil Aviation entail? e Civil Aviation Directorate (CAD) within Transport Malta is in charge of regulating every aviation activity in Malta to- gether with the promotion of the aviation industry in general. Our oversight ranges from that of Malta International Airport (MIA) and Malta Air Traffic Services (MATS), Malta Air, Air Malta, Medavia and many oth- ers. e Civil Aviation directo- rate is the regulator on top of all things aviation in Malta. Malta follows all European Union Aviation Safety Agen- cy (EASA) regulations and the Standards and Recommended Practices of the International Civil Aviation Organization. e CAD is audited by EASA on a regular basis, to ensure conformity with these interna- tional standards. is ensures a level playing field across the EU when it comes to licensing, meaning that a Maltese license is equal to that of any other Eu- ropean country giving local reg- istered companies and individ- uals a very solid platform and access to a large market. My role as Director General is to head the Directorate and en- sure that the oversight of these activities is done to an optimum level in line with regulation. e role of the Director General in laden with many responsibili- ties and he is held accountable. Aviation in general has distinct lines of duties and responsibil- ities and this is reflected in the set up of the Directorate as well. In terms of the law, the Direc- tor General assumes the role of ultimate decision maker on technical issues. is obviously needs input from a vast array of professionals who make up the Directorate and assist the DGCA on a daily basis. Policy is drawn up by the government of the day, but the execution of such policy is decided on tech- nical merits and in line with clear regulation. e CAD and the DGCA ob- viously are part of the Authority for Transport and hence follow all Transport Malta administra- tive procedures being ultimate- ly responsible to the Chairman and the Board in this respect. I must state that not too long ago, the regulator had lost a lot of its strength, due to lack of investment and understanding. is has been reversed over the past five or six years where ef- forts were efforts were made to regain the recognition that is required to be seen as and to function as a regulator. I can proudly say that the industry needed a strong but fair regu- lator and that today we are rec- ognized as such by those who have invested in Malta. Without a strong and efficient regulator any sector is destined to fail with the dire consequences that brings with it. How many aircraft and companies are currently registered on the Maltese aircraft registry? What's the trend here – have the number of aircraft and companies registered been increasing as Malta becomes a more popular registrar? We have seen records broken on a yearly basis, with the reg- ister reaching 350 aircraft as we speak. We have another 100 air- craft in line to be processed in the coming months putting the total amount close to 450 by the first quarter of 2020. ere are also 37 Air Opera- tor Certificates (AOCs) – which are technically airlines, which can vary from a one-aircraft airline to one with over 50 or 60 – registered in Malta. ere are three AOCs currently being processed, and another seven or eight preparing to submit an ap- plication next year. ese are complimented by other activities which are grow- ing. We have seven Air Train- ing Organisations (ATOs), and three other applications are pending. Moreover, we've lately seen a surge in cabin crew train- ing organisations, and some very good players with vast experience have come in from other jurisdictions. We also have Part-147 training organisa- tions, which train engineers to become aircraft mechanics. e maintenance and repair sec- tor remains strong and aircraft painting has been successfully introduced further diversifying the product. e first full Flight Pilot simulator has now been in operation for over a year and others are possible in the near future. Obviously the industry has a positive effect on other sectors of the economy as people and companies pay taxes and spend money on a day to day basis. Malta has developed into a thriving hub with a strong avi- ation cluster within it. It has shown great resilience in adapt- ing to new challenges especially in the private sector with Law firms, accountancy firms and many others rising to the occa- sion and diversifying, thus add- ing value to Malta as a quality jurisdiction. Unfortunately, the same can- not be said about the banking sector and certain other gov- ernmental departments which sadly haven't yet come to terms with the industry or the times. Old habits die hard for them, and, unfortunately, we still have some work to do to convince the few stakeholders who are lagging behind and stuck in the past to join us in our quest to make Malta a better place to operate from. Has there been any significant change in the type of aircraft being registered? Up to around two years ago, Malta was mainly a place where business jets would be registered. Nowadays, the lat- est AOCs are passenger liners with larger aircraft types and much more passenger seats. e business jet sector remains strong with important names such as VistaJet, AirX, Comlux and TAG but the Airliner mar- ket has gathered pace with the introduction of airlines such as Malta Air, Smartlynx, Freebird and Corendon. is means our job has changed slightly but it is a positive sign, as it creates more jobs and opportunities. What is next for Malta? Well 2020 looks like it will be another busy year. As men- tioned earlier we have various companies who are expected to apply for a new AOC and we see many current companies who will consolidate and grow in size. We are currently work- ing on the licensing of the Gozo heliport which should be open for commercial traffic when the necessary investment is ready and in place. We are also very much interested into expanding into aircraft leasing and financ- ing, as it is the natural progres- sion from our current position. We want to be competitive in every aspect of aviation and have the full range of activities. We've also worked a lot on updating old legislation whilst introducing new ones. We have recently held a public consulta- tion on further revisions to the Aircraft Registration Act and to the Air Navigation Order, to bring them in line with cur- rent trends, and new niches like that of unmanned aircraft. is needs to be an ongoing process if we are to remain competitive and we urge stakeholders to be part of this process of renewal. Within the context of this growing and broad industry, do you encounter challenges when it comes to retaining workers? I must admit that finding and keeping personnel has become a major challenge. In general, the aviation sector is a highly paid market, throughout the world. It is a reality that there is a lot of demand in the industry and when companies cannot find new people, they tend to "poach" from other local com- panies, including staff from my own directorate. In a way, we're a victim of our own success, and although job mobility can be healthy it is a major headache. Many organisations invest a lot in training employees and would hope that those people stay with them for a certain period prior to moving on. It would not be possible to build an aviation cluster without un- derstanding how the cluster workers and to benchmark jobs within the regulatory authority. e authority needs to main- tain a pool of talented people to guarantee stability. If work- ers are not paid properly in this sector, they will leave as long as the demand remains high. e rental market is also pos- ing problems due to the fact that many jobs in the sector are tak- en up by non Maltese. I believe the market needs to provide ac- commodation suitable for the demographic. e industry pro- vides various highly paid posts but pay for the back office job is in line with other sectors of the economy and the pay does not allow a person who comes from abroad the luxury of renting out a large "Maltese" style flat. Many Captain Charles Pace heads the Civil Aviation Directorate. For all aviation-related maers, the buck stops with him. He is a former pilot with Malta's national carrier, and has 40 years of operational experience in the aviation sector in various areas, including cabin services, ground operations, aircra leasing and regulatory affairs