Taxi drivers strike in Maldives paradise

Taxi drivers are on strike in the Maldives, but that may have little effect on the reputed paradise since the longest road there measures just one mile (1.6 kilometres), a local news agency said.

The archipelago's 575 taxi services halted Sunday amid demands for lower gasoline prices, the private Haveeru agency said.

Drivers complained that the fare to any point on the tiny coral island is only 15 rufiya or 1.17 dollars.

The narrow streets were "peaceful" without taxis, the report said.

"I walked to work today and it took me just 10 minutes to get there," a secretary identified only as Aisha told Haveeru.

"Actually, we do not really need taxis," she said.

Over 100,000 people live packed in an area of less than one square mile on the capital island.

The Maldives -- 1,192 coral outcrops scattered across the equator -- is South Asia's most expensive tourist destination.

The 369,000 population enjoy the region's highest per capita income of over 2,300 dollars.

Source: The National

More Than Ten Islands Hit By Swell

"More than ten islands across the Maldives have been hit by a large swell, and the Maldives Meteorological Office is warning all islands to be braced for further unusual tides on Tuesday evening and Wednesday.

The Met Office can not explain why the sudden swell has taken place but have said it is definitely not the result of a tsunami.

A swell of between one and two feet washed through beaches and onto the western sides of the islands at around 9.30am this morning, causing much flooding.

There are no confirmed reports of any loss of life, or of structural damage to buildings or harbours. But many homes have been flooded by the swell, and many families have been left without electricity.

The swell hit Hithadhoo, Feydhoo, Maradhoo, Gan and Maradhoo-Feydhoo islands in Addu (Seenu) atoll. It also affected Dhidhdhoo in Haa Alifu atoll, Naivaadhoo island in Haa Dhaal atoll, Funadhoo island in Shaviyani atoll, Hinnavar island in Laviyani atoll, Madaveli island in Gaaf Alif atoll and Dhidhdhoo island in Alif Daal atoll."

- Minivan -

Special Majlis passes amendment to allow 18 years and above to vote in referendum

The People’s Special Majlis on Sunday passed an amendment allowing those above 18 years of age to vote in the referendum to decide upon a system of government.

Newly elected Speaker for the interim constitutional parliament, Gasim Ibrahim, put it to a vote despite the fact that his predecessor had dismissed the amendment as a ‘breach of the constitution’. The vote was taken after the Speaker refused to consider a new proposal and despite protests by Information Minister Mohamed Nasheed who asked on what authority that the new Speaker was overturning the previous ruling.

The amendment was passed by the Majlis by the lowest possible vote, winning exactly the 57 votes required. There were 85 members in attendance when the vote was called for.

Even though none of the members voted against the amendment, 16 members were undecided and 12 members did not vote.

Source: Haveeru

Maldives First Lady thanks Emirates Airline Foundation supporters

Supporters of the Emirates Airline Foundation came in for well-deserved thanks during a visit by Mrs Nasreena Gayoom, the wife of the President of the Maldives, HE Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.
As Patron of the Society for Health Education (SHE), Mrs Gayoom expressed her appreciation during a meeting in Dubai with the foundation's board of directors.

The foundation, which uses donations by passengers on board Emirates' flights to fund humanitarian projects around the world in aid of underprivileged children, recently funded SHE in its work with children suffering from the genetic blood disorder thalassaemia.

Mrs Gayoom said: 'SHE is working hard to reduce the number of thalassaemia cases in the Maldives and we are grateful to the supporters of the Emirates Airline Foundation who are helping us to give a better quality of life to the considerable number of children and young people who continue to suffer its debilitating effects.'

Blood transfusions are a monthly necessity for sufferers of thalassaemia, but hundreds die across the world due to complications associated with transfusions.

Using filters is the best way to beat complications - they remove substances that produce allergic reactions.

The foundation has used passengers' donations to purchase a year's supply of filters, at a cost of US$100,000 to help some 550 children.

Tim Clark, President of Emirates Airline and Chairman of the Emirates Airline Foundation, commented: 'It was indeed an honour to welcome Mrs Gayoom to Dubai and discuss the work of the Society for Health Education. We consider every application for funding based on our policy of helping improve the quality of life of children in need. We were very impressed with the initiatives taken by the society in alleviating the suffering of these children and are pleased that the foundation has been able to contribute to its work.'

Source: AME Info

Dubai business women meet Maldives First Lady

Mrs. Raja spoke during her meeting Thursday in Dubai Chamber Of Commerce and Industry (DCCI) with a delegation from the Maldives headed by Mrs. Nasreena M. A. Gayoom, First Lady of the Republic of Maldives and Founder Member of the Society of Health Education, Maldives, and DWBC executive board members.

Mrs. Raja Easa Al Gurg, President of Dubai Women Business Council (DWBC) emphasized the council's interest in communicating with business women from other countries for cooperating in different economic, social, and cultural fields and to explore opportunities and facilities offered to the investors for establishing common investment projects.

She also pointed out the importance of cooperating with Maldives business women as it is one of the important tourist destinations in Asia with promising investment opportunities in the tourism sector. The UAE, in turn, could provide Maldives business women excellent opportunities for investment, she said.

Mrs. Raja Easa Al Gurg reviewed the progress of Emirates business women and the important role she plays in supporting the economic development of the country and the respected position they enjoyed, regionally and internationally.

She indicated that there are 10,700 business women in the Emirates. Of them, 4,095 are in Dubai, 3,000 in Sharjah, 2,732 in Abu Dhabi and 873 in the rest of the Emirates. Their investments in Emirates is more than 12.5 billion dirhams, distributed in different sectors. 'The Emirati business woman is involved in all fields,' she noted. She also said that women make up 40 per cent of the Emirates workforce.

While emphasizing the importance of benefiting from the facilities available for foreign investors, Mrs. Raja asked the Maldives First Lady to urge investors in her country to establish common investment projects with their counterparts in the Emirates.

The Maldivian First Lady expressed her admiration for what the Emirates woman has achieved in the economic and political fields and the high positions she occupies. She also praised the comprehensive growth the UAE is witnessing in general and Dubai in particular, which makes it an important business center in the region.

She said that the Maldives had a lot of potential which allowed it to play an active role in tourism and to welcome investors. She noted that the Maldives consists of 26 low and clean atolls in the Indian Ocean, surrounded by palm trees, white sandy beaches and wonderful blue lakes. It also provides excellent facilities for diving and atoll-viewing. 'Marine life, in all its vibrant colors, are one of the highlights of this tourist paradise,' she added.

Source:

Joint Army training exercise begins

T'PURAM: The Indian Army is engaging in a joint training exercise with the Maldivian National Defence Forces (MNDF), which includes a two-day counter-terrorist exercise.

The week-long exercise began on Saturday, a statement issued here said.

Codenamed ‘Ekuverin’, an infantry battalion of the Southern Command is involved in the exercise on the Indian side.

The exercise is on at the MNDF training centre at Khadhoo Island. India has conducted joint Naval training with Maldives on a number of occasions, but this is the first time that the Indian Army is training jointly with the MNDF in Maldives.

The aim of the training is to foster Army-to-Army co-operation and enhance inter-operability, the statement said.

Source:

MALDIVES: Charge against a journalist dropped,

The Maldivian information minister announced today that a criminal charge of “disobedience of an order” against Minivan Daily Deputy Editor Nazim Sattar would be dropped and that charges against Editor Aminath Najeeb would be reduced, Sattar told CPJ.

The two were facing criminal charges related to an August 2005 article quoting an opposition activist. Authorities alleged that activist Ahmed Abbas’ statements incited violence against the police; Abbas has been jailed in connection with the statement.

Two other charges against Najeeb related to Minivan articles will be combined into a single charge of disobedience, Information Minister Mohamed Nasheed told journalists. Nasheed’s announcement came during a conference marking World Press Freedom Day. Najeeb still faces jail time if convicted.

“While we are relieved that authorities have dropped and reduced charges against the two Minivan editors, reporters in the Maldives remain at serious risk for official retribution,” said CPJ Executive Director Joel Simon. “If the government wants the international community to take seriously its pledges of press freedom, it must end its pattern of targeting journalists and obstructing critical reporting.”

Minivan Daily, a newspaper that is affiliated with the opposition Maldivian Democracy Party (MDP), has been a target of government harassment since its launch. Reporter Fahala Saeed is now serving a life sentence on what his colleagues believe are trumped-up drug charges.

Several journalists working for news outlets critical of the government have been detained in the past week, the Minivan News Web site reported. Aishath Ainya, a contributing columnist for the newspaper, was detained at 9:30 this morning and questioned by the Supreme Islamic Council in connection with a March 20 column on the wearing of veils. She was released later today and told to return in a few days.

Three reporters for various news outlets were detained on Saturday while reporting on the burial in Male of Hussein Salah, who died under mysterious circumstances earlier this month. One of the journalists, E-Sandhaanu editor Adam Niqdad, launched a three-day hunger strike while in custody and was released today.

Source: CPJ

CrisisWatch N°45, 1 May 2007

CrisisWatch - summarises briefly developments during the previous month in some 70 situations of current or potential conflict, listed alphabetically by region, providing references and links to more detailed information sources.

About Maldives on the report.

• Opposition MDP chairman claimed beaten when detained after 16 April Male demonstrations against alleged wrongful death of man detained on drugs charges.
• “Row over Maldives ‘custody death’”, BBC, 16 Apr. 2007.

Download full report from relief web.

Source: Relief Web

Amana Takaful fully fledged branch in the Maldives had Insurance profit grow by 396%

As more and more Sri Lankans look to the Takaful way of insurance, known as the most rewarding in the industry, its Sri Lankan flag-bearer Amana Takaful Insurance (ATI) revealed remarkable growth, for its financial year of 2006.

The net profit after tax shows an extensive rise of 396%, from Rs.2mn to Rs.11.5mn, while the total Gross Written Premium (GWP) has increased by a significant 57%. Total assets increased by 38%, and are at Rs.597mn, as at the end of the financial year. According to the financial statements Earnings per Share is recorded at Rs.0.92. ATI’s prolific year showed General Takaful achieving a growth of 53% and Family Takaful boasting a growth of 85%.

Recently completing 8 years of operation in Sri Lanka, Amana Takaful Insurance has made tremendous headway in the insurance industry, showing potential to lead the Takaful industry in the South Asian region. ATI’s growth in 2006 confirms and reflects the Global Takaful industry growth of 15-20%.

"The Company’s business operations are based on fairness and a commitment to sincerely serve all participants on a mutually beneficial platform," said Mr. Ehsan Zaheed, CEO/ Director - ATI, when asked to comment on the Company’s performance during 2006. "We have, throughout the past year, strengthened and reinforced key activities such as, risk management, corporate governance and the overall organisational structure - geared to provide a total Takaful solution and a company wide focus to provide a service that exceeds the expectations of customers." One of the key strategic priorities was the investment in enhancing people and their skills. The development of our people has helped motivate employees reach their individual goals by complimenting the overall corporate objectives, he added.

Marketing and branding has also played a key role in ATI’s recent achievement. The nature of Takaful commands the creation of an innovative model to take it to the market. According to ATI’s Asst. Marketing Manager Aashiq Aminuddin, ATI has been able to enlighten the market about the benefits of Takaful through proper education. This has reflected in the market acceptance and growth of sales.

“The concept of Takaful can be termed as the next phase or generation of insurance. Its evolution has brought about a product that is a truly win-win proposition for everyone involved. Not only does it take care of participants, the system of operation also gives back a return to them. This is something new and interesting for the market”, Aminuddin added.

ATI has led the way in many instances in the industry. It was the first to open out mobile phone insurance and also medical insurance for individuals, fulfilling a dire need of the masses. ATI is also has a strong hold in Aviation and Hull Insurance, which is mainly in the Maldives.

The Takaful concept of insurance has become widely popular locally as well as globally due to its practice of giving back a ‘surplus refund.’ When you take a life or general cover, your premiums are pooled into a fund which yields returns from prudent investments while every member’s needs are taken care of. In General Takaful once all claims are paid the remaining (underwriting profit) is proportionately paid back to members who have not claimed during the policy year as surplus refunds.

Amana Takaful Limited, in collaboration with Takaful Malaysia, one of the largest Takaful operators in the world, has from inception catered for both Family and General Takaful Insurance. Its success is mirrored in its phenomenal growth and the extent of customer loyalty it commands today.

The Company’s operations have expanded to include 15 locations island-wide including in the South and East of Sri Lanka, also extending overseas with the setting up of a fully fledged branch in the Maldives. Amana Takaful Insurance is currently backed by some of the best re-insurers in the Takaful Industry, including Takaful Re, Best Re, Malaysian Re, Asian Re and Lauban Re.

Source: PRLEAP.COM

After Long time passengers of Bell 212 Helicopter crashed near Rangali Island of Maldives is Compensating.

More than seven years after his death in a helicopter crash in the India ocean the family of a Calgary businessman is finally being compensated.

A judgement order filed in Calgary Court of Queen’s Bench says the survivors of Harry Chernetz will receive $3,215,000 for his untimely death.

The order by, Justice Sal LoVecchio, was filed this week by lawyers for the dead man’s family, and two of the companies sued over his death.

After consultations with insurers, Eagle Copters Maintenance Ltd., and Maldivian Air Taxi, remained as defendants to streamline the case.

They admitted liability for Chernetz’s death and held a trial in late 2005, to determine proper damages.

Chernetz, 51, perished with nine others on Dec. 3, 1999, when their helicopter plunged into the Indian Ocean.

Chernetz was a passenger on board a Bell 212 helicopter when it crashed into the sea near Rangali Island in the Republic of Maldives shortly after take off.

Chernetz was head of Calgary-based Venture Helicopters and was in Maldives to establish a helicopter taxi service from the nation’s various tropical island resorts to its capital, Male.

During the trial on damages, court heard in seven years he took the company from a start-up business to one which had an operating profit of $2.5 million in its last two.

Following Chernetz’s death, his widow, Madeline took over as company president, but could not maintain its viability and sold it for $300,000.

At trial Madeline Chernetz said she was overwhelmed by her husband’s death and had little recollection of the months which followed and her handling of the company.

“I was not in a full state of mind, I was bereaved, I was on drugs, I was not well,” she said at the time.

Source: By KEVIN MARTIN, SUN MEDIA

Maldives student attacked in India

MALE, April 26 (HNS) -- A Maldivian student was attacked in Bangalore, India, on Tuesday while on his way home from college and has been admitted in hospital.

Mohamed Ahmed, 25, studying for a degree in information technology, was attacked by a group of unknown assailants; the assault left him with head injuries.

According to Mohamed Ahmed’s college mate, Mohamed Musthafa Farooq who spoke to Haveeru on the phone from Bangalore, the incident happened around 4:00 in the evening on Tuesday while Mohamed was walking home with a classmate.

“While on the way home after finishing a college exam , a group of people coming from behind demanded to step aside and grabbed Mohamed’s head,” said Musthafa. “Mohamed batted the hand away and accidently hit the man nearby. In anger the man picked up a stone and hit Mohamed across the head. We can’t tell whether these people were intoxicated or under what condition they were in.”

Musthafa said after the incident, he quickly took Mohamed to a nearby hospital and after a CT scan the doctors have said that Mohamed had suffered internal bleeding in his head. Afterwards when his condition became serious, they had transferred him to the intensive care unit and had even performed an operation on him. Musthafa added that the doctor had even said that Mohamed would need cosmetic surgery as well.

“He seems to be recovering well now,” said Musthafa. “He can somewhat talk but he’s unable to open his eyes yet.”

Musthafa also said that he had personally contacted the Maldivian High Commissioner Anbaree Abdul Sattar in India as well as Mohamed’s family about the attack.

According to Mohamed’s Father, Ahmed Ibrahim, his son’s condition is not serious anymore. He said that he had received word of the incident only on Wednesday but that he will be flying to India to see his son on Thursday.

Musthafa said that earlier, a similar incident had also occurred when a group of intoxicated people had attacked another group of foreign students studying in Bangalore Garden City College.

Source: Haveeru

Maldives Minister visits Thiruvananthapuram

By Roy Mathew

Thiruvananthapuram, April 25: The Minister of State and Principal Collector of Customs of Maldives Ibrahim Rashad visited Thiruvananthapuram here on Wednesday for an interaction with the Central Excise and Customs here.

Mr. Rashad visited Vizhinjam and the airport here to see the operations of the Customs Department here. Matters related to liaison with the customs wings of both the countries were discussed.

Source: The Hindu

Findings of Colombo JMO “contradictory and inexplicable”: Sri Lankan lawyer

“A CT scan on the body of Solah was done at the Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital in Male on 15 April soon after the discovery of his body and the subsequent statements issued by Maldives police to the media confirm that there was a fracture of the sinus bone and several injuries to the head. “Unfortunately, the findings of the JMO (Dr. [Read More]

Source: Haveeru

Maldives man Hussain Solah 'was not tortured'

BBC News, Colombo:

An independent autopsy in Sri Lanka has found no sign of torture on the body of a Maldives opposition supporter whose death sparked protests.

Hussain Salah's body was found near the capital, Male, a week ago.

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) said Mr Salah had been killed in police custody.

The procedure was carried out in Sri Lanka at the request of the dead man's family. The preliminary report showed that the cause of death was drowning.

Physical violence was ruled out.

'Not satisfied'

The government of the Maldives says the autopsy proves that Mr Salah was not killed by the police, as the opposition has been maintaining for a week.

And the preliminary report showed that the cause of death was drowning.

When Mr Salah's body was found floating in a lagoon last Sunday, the MDP said he had been murdered in custody and dumped.

Several people were arrested in protests that followed.

But the police maintained the dead man had been released unharmed 36 hours earlier.

And the postmortem report showed the injuries might have happened while he was in the water.

The MDP says it is not satisfied by the investigations - saying the sequence of events that led up to the drowning has not been established.

The opposition and the government are at loggerheads in the Maldives where political parties have been allowed only since 2005.

The MDP accuses President Mamoun Abdul Gayoom, in office since 1978, of dragging his feet on reforms in an attempt to hold on to power.

Source: BBC News

Maldives conducts first-ever autopsy to examine suspicious death of dissident

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka: The Maldives has sanctioned the Muslim nation's first-ever post mortem examination to examine the suspicious death of an opposition activist who was allegedly beaten to death in custody, officials said.

The body of Hussain Salah, which was found floating in Male harbor last Sunday, was sent to neighboring Sri Lanka on Friday for an autopsy on the request of the deceased man's relatives, Maldives' chief government spokesman Mohamed Hussain Shareef said by phone from the capital Male.

Islam requires that a corpse be buried quickly without cutting or disturbing it.

"So far in Maldives, an autopsy has never taken place, partly due to religion — and also there was never such a request," Shareef said.

The Maldives is a Muslim nation of about 300,000 people on 1,192 coral islands in the Indian Ocean.

"This isn't without controversy," Shareef said of the government decision to agree to a post-mortem.

"Already some religious groups and parties have vehemently opposed it," he said, adding that the government agreed to the family request because it has nothing to hide.

A Sri Lankan foreign ministry official confirmed that the body is in Sri Lanka but declined to give further details.

Mohamed Nasheed, a senior leader of opposition Maldivian Democratic Party, said earlier Salah had died in custody and police attempts to bury his body in a hurry were thwarted by protesters including himself.

But the government says that Salah had died 36 hours after being released from police detention over a narcotics charge.

The government identified Salah as a drug addict who had previous convictions on narcotics and burglary charges.

Source: IHT

World Press Freedom Day Conference to be Held in Maldives

Maldives will host this year’s World Press Freedom Day Conference. The conference is being held in collaboration with UNESCO and Asian Media Information and Communication Centre (AMIC).

The Press Freedom Day events and special ceremony to commemorate the day would take place on the 2nd and 3rd of May in the capital Male’.

President of the Maldives, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom would attend the special session to commemorate the World Press Freedom Day. A high level delegation from the Asian region would converge in the Maldives to present, discuss and disseminate information on issues related to Press Freedom at the two day session. The theme for the conference has been set for “Media Control, Freedom of Expression and Freedom of the Press in South Asia.”

International and local media personnel are invited to take part in the Press Freedom Day events held in the Maldives.

For online registration and further information please visit www.maldivesinfo.gov.mv

Source: hyphen

UN Judicial Envoy Due To Arrive In Male’

By Minivan News

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers, Leandro Despouy, was due to arrive in Male’ on Sunday to study the country’s legal system.

Despouy will stay in the Maldives until March 1 in order to “conduct a first hand investigation” into the judiciary.

Despouy will assess the level of public access to the justice system, fair trial guarantees, independence of judges, and the level of professional training to lawyers and prosecutors.

The senior UN diplomat is due to recommend ways of making the judiciary independent and effective, “principles that are not enshrined in the present constitution,” the UN said on Wednesday.

Despouy’s visit follows similar visits by Professor Paul Robinson in 2004 and Sir Ivan Lawrence in 2005. Both Robinson and Lawrence severely criticized the judiciary for being both partial and incompetent.

Some critics of the government suggest Despouy’s visit is an attempt by the Gayoom regime to further delay the implementation of judicial reforms that Robinson helped draft.

In President Gayoom’s ‘roadmap for democratic reform’, published in March 2006, the government promised to table a raft of new reform bills before the People’s Majlis by August 31 2006.

According to the roadmap, a bill on the new penal code; a bill on new sentencing regulations; a bill on the new criminal procedures code; a bill on evidence; a bill on the National Security Service; a Police bill; a bill on detention procedures; and a bill on parole were all due to be placed before parliament by August 31.

Inexplicably, the government failed to meet its own deadline and, so far, has failed to enact any significant reforms to the judiciary either through the People’s Majlis - in which government MPs hold a large majority - or through presidential decree.

“How many reports do we need until the Government of Maldives actually makes the changes?”, questioned democracy activist Sara Mahir, in an open letter to the Dhivehi Observer newspaper on Friday.

“I sincerely hope that this time, the recommendations will be taken into account, and will not end up on a dusty shelf like the previous ones,” she added.

Despouy was appointed Special Rapporteur in September 2003. He has extensive experience in human rights and international humanitarian law and has held a number of high-level positions in the United Nations and the Government of Argentina.

During his visit, Despouy is scheduled to meet with the President Gayoom, a number of government ministers including the Attorney General, judges, prosecutors, lawyers, international organizations and non-governmental organizations.

Despouy is also due to travel to Addu to meet judges, prosecutors and civil society representatives from the atoll.

Maldives keen to boost cinema industry: Sanath

By: Daily Mirror

The Maldivian government is making every effort to encourage foreign productions to be shot in its locations thereby sharing their technical know-how with the local film clan.

Maldivian Minister of State for Arts Hussain Shihab who is in charge of the country’s film industry has been playing a key role in motivating young filmmakers in Maldives, award-winning film star Sanath Gunathilaka said.

Sanath participated as the Chief Judge at last week’s Maladivian Film Festival together with seasoned filmmaker Somartane Dissanayake.

“Maladivian filmmakers are influenced by popular cinema, almost addicted to Indian film styles. But I advised them in my capacity that though popular cnema is crucial for a movie industry, it should also strive to create an own identity and I believe they took me seriously,” he said adding that Maldives also planned to hold film festivals including those representing the SAARC countries soon.

“They have big plans for the future and their motives seem to be genuine. I hope they would emerge as a force to reckon with soon,” he said.

The Maldivian government is now taking steps to build new cinema halls and promote the industry by offering several concessions to those involved in the field.

Even foreign teams which choose Maldivian location to picturise their films are given free access in a bid to boost the industry.

Popular Sinhala films Sulanga and Sakman Maluwa have also been screened in Maldives recently.

SAARC countries favours educational programmes for children

To check drug abuse in the region, representatives of South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) countries have favoured educational programmes for children and empowerment programmes for women and other vulnerable groups.

Representatives of SAARC countries--Bhutan, Bangladesh, India, Maldives, Nepal and Sri Lanka made the suggestions at the day-long meeting on Drug Demand Reduction Rehabilitation of Victims of Drug Abuse yesterday, PTI reported here today quoting official sources.

Veena Chhotray, Secretary, Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment inaugurated the meeting which discussed issues of common concern relating to drug abuse in the SAARC region and underlined the need for concerted effort to fight the menace.

Though a national survey had been conducted in India some years ago with various epidemiological as well as focussed thematic components, she said there was a need for more representative and in-depth study for authentic data on extent, pattern and trends of drug abuse.

Delegates from other SAARC countries also briefed the meeting on the actions being taken in their respective countries to reduce demand for drugs and rehabilitate the victims of drug abuse.

The meeting finalised recommendations for implementation by relevant SAARC bodies for awareness generation, counselling intervention and rehabilitation of drug-abuse victims.

SriLankan International Aviation Academy expands to Maldives

EXPANSION: The International Aviation Academy (IAA), the training arm of SriLankan Airlines, will shortly begin programmes in the Maldivian capital, Male, a significant expansion of its services to the South Asian region.

Diploma courses will initially be offered in two fields - Passenger Handling Management; and Air Cargo; with a non-Diploma programme in Dangerous Good Regulations. The Academy’s IATA-accredited instructors will conduct classes in Male.

Manager Human Resources at SriLankan Airlines Sanjeeva Jayatilleke, said: “This is an important step in the IAA’s vision of becoming the premier centre for aviation-related learning in South Asia.

We view it as a natural progress since SriLankan has long been the largest carrier in the Maldives, and actively promotes Sri Lanka and the Maldives as dual destinations for global tourists, together with tourism authorities in both countries.”

The IAA offers seven programmes for external students at its main centre at the Bandaranaike International Airport in Katunayake, a short distance from the Sri Lankan capital Colombo.

Apart from the three courses offered in the Maldives, it has courses in Aircraft Weight and Balance; ICAO 201 Flight Dispatcher Programme; Baggage Handling; and Airline Cabin Crew Training. [Read More]