SEPANG: The National Aviation Policy, shot down by the Government when the idea was mooted early last year, will take off again with the Prime Minister saying it is a timely move in view of the industry's progress and the country's changing landscape.
Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the Transport Ministry would formulate the policy.
“I am certain a comprehensive National Aviation Policy will give us an important boost as we take the step forward to a brighter and more defined future for Malaysian aviation.
Up is the only way: Students grabbing their chance to take a group photo with Najib and Transport Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha. “I look forward to unveiling this policy after input, views and concerns from all stakeholders have been considered and evaluated.”
He was speaking to a gathering of aviation experts and airline industry players at the 100 Years of Aviation in Malaysia celebration at the MAS Hangar 6 here.
In May last year, the Transport Ministry rejected calls by Malaysia Airlines and AirAsia for such a policy, stating that existing guidelines were sufficient.
Najib said the aviation industry was being held back by “clawing and unrelenting challenges that fluctuate erratically.”
“From fuel prices to security threats, to natural disasters and disease outbreaks; never before has aviation faced so much peril in such a short span of time,” he said.
Despite that, he tipped his hat off to the country's aviation industry for what it had achieved in the past 100 years, since the first flight was recorded in 1911 when one G.P. Fuller landed his Antoinette monoplane at the Ampang race course in Kuala Lumpur, where the Petronas Twin Towers now stand.
“No one would have imagined how far we would come, given the state that we were in then. But we confounded critics and today, in aviation as well as in various other areas, we stand no less than some of the most developed countries in the world,” said Najib.
He said it was timely to implement a national policy, considering the progress of the aviation industry and the country's landscape.
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