Fiji Airways CEO Stefan Pichler will not be attending the Association of the South Pacific Airlines (APSA) annual general meeting in New Caledonia this week.

Instead a senior executive will be representing the national carrier at the regional airlines meeting where the burning issue of the Fiji Airways – Solomon Airlines fall out is not on the agenda.

ASPA Secretary General George Faktaufon has confirmed both airlines will be represented at the meeting in Noumea.

Faktaufon says the Fiji – solomon saga is not in the agenda as the respective governments are now addressing the issue

he says the airlines prefer to let their governments deal with the bilateral air service agreement.

Both Fiji and the Solomon Island governments have banned flights to each other’s countries in one of the biggest regional airline rift’s in recent times with both accusing the other of breaking the Air Services Agreement .

Last week Pichler expressed his disappointment at the absence of Solomon Airlines during the inaugural Melanesian Spearhead Group (MSG) Aviation and Tourism Sectorial Dialogue which was held in Vanuatu on July 15.

He says they could have offered codeshare or interline to the Solomon’s in light of the recent spat and believes the Solomon Islands government has been badly advised on the issue.

However Pichler’s absence at this week’s regional airlines forum will be met with disappointment by other airline heads.