Nikhil Aiyush Kumar 
Civil Aviation Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Viliame Gavoka
Fiji is finally taking steps to fix a decade-long gap in global aviation safety compliance.
Civil Aviation Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Viliame Gavoka said the government was now working to ratify three key international air safety agreements.
These are the Beijing Convention, the Beijing Protocol, and the Montreal Convention.
He said Fiji should have signed these treaties within two to five years after they were adopted but no action was taken until now.
“These are instruments that should have been ratified within two to five years of their adoption. Unfortunately, no substantive progress was made until now. As a result, Fiji has fallen out of step with global aviation norms, particularly in addressing emerging threats and modernizing our legal framework.”
Gavoka states the Beijing Convention deals with serious modern threats like using planes as weapons or moving weapons of mass destruction.
He used the 2021 Ryanair flight diversion in Belarus as an example of why the treaty matters.
He adds the Montreal Convention will help protect passengers better by updating airline liability rules and replacing outdated laws.
Once passed in Parliament, the new laws will close legal gaps, boost passenger rights and strengthen Fiji’s global aviation profile.
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