THE resignation of Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) CEO Ahmad Nizar Zolfakar was not due to the aviation regulator’s downgrade by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

CAAM member Ragunath Kesavan said Ahmad Nizar Zolfakar had tendered his resignation before the FAA’s audit report and downgrade to Category 2.

“He tendered in October,” he said at the CAAM office in Putrajaya this evening.

The FAA conducted an in-country reassessment of Malaysia under the International Aviation Safety Assessment (IASA) programme in April 2019. 

The FAA report was supposed to be released today, but the news that CAAM had been downgraded to Category 2 was leaked yesterday.

Ragunath said Nizar had served CAAM for more than a year after retiring from the Department of Civil Aviation (DCA).

“He has tendered his resignation and we have to respect his wishes.”

To date, no candidates have been shortlisted for Nizar’s replacement, CAAM member Afzal Abdul Rahim added.

“We already started the search for a new CEO. We expect the person to take over the position in a few months.”

CAAM member Zainal Fuad will be acting CEO in the meantime.

The aviation regulator said at the press conference that it is confident about meeting all requirements set by the US FAA within 12 months, and to be in Category 1 within 24 months.

The FAA announced yesterday that it had downgraded the CAAM air safety rating for failing to meet international safety standards.

The FAA said CAAM had failed to meet the safety standards of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) and as such received a Category 2 rating based.

The assessment applies to the aviation authority and not airlines or airports, but it means airlines licensed by CAAM will not be able to add new routes to and from the US.

The only Malaysian airline that flies to the US directly is AirAsia X Bhd, to Honolulu, Hawaii via Osaka, Japan. – November 12, 2019.