Attorney General (AG) Ibrahim Riffath has advised the Ministry of Higher Education and the Ministry of Transport and Civil Aviation on how to proceed with legal action against Asian Academy of Aeronautics (AAA), the flying school in Addu City.
AG Riffath stated he has given recommendations to the higher education ministry and the transport ministry on the legal action to be taken against the flying school, in accordance with the Maldives Civil Aviation Act and the Higher Education Act.
AAA has come under scrutiny after a majority of its students raised concerns such as its failure to complete its programmes for students as scheduled, overcharging fees and challenges in logging their flight time due to the lack of teachers and planes for the 171 students studying at the school. The complaints led to a parliament inquiry which found that AAA does not have sufficient resources and facilities to conduct its programmes.
Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation Aishath Nahula and Minister of Higher Education Dr. Ibrahim Hassan were summoned to a parliamentary committee meeting over the issue, during which Minister Nahula stated the only viable solution was to establish a new school.
The national airline operator, Island Aviation Service Limited (IASL), is currently seeking experienced parties to operate a new flying school, which is to be run independently by a subsidiary company. Furthermore, the transport ministry stated the Civil Aviation Authority has revoked the license of AAA's Head of Pilot Training Captain Suranjan De Silva and issued a warning to revoke the license of Accountable Manager of AAA Ali Akbar Jeevanjee if the issues at the school are not solved quickly.
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has recently announced his decision to transfer the student loans taken by AAA students under Bank of Maldives (BML) to the higher education ministry to prevent interest from being charged on the loans. The government has also extended the repayment period of the loans taken by students of the flying school.