THE proposed merger between the Malaysian Aviation Commission (Mavcom) and the Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia (CAAM) is still alive despite the change in government, sources said.

“The Transport Ministry has not indicated anything on policy direction. We assume it is status quo,” a source linked to Mavcom told The Malaysian Insight.

Another source close to the developments at CAAM also said the same.

The two, however, said the merger has not seen much progress.

There are issues pending, one source said, including overlapping laws and regulations, cleaning up CAAM as well as the process of upgrading the air-safety rating downgraded by the United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The FAA on November 11 downgraded the air-safety rating after CAAM failed to meet international safety standards.

It said CAAM failed to meet the safety standards of the International Civil Aviation Organisation and issued a Category 2 rating based on a reassessment of the country’s civil aviation authority.

Former transport minister Anthony Loke said in December that the merger between the two entities will be in the best interest of the aviation industry.

He had said the merger is crucial to empower and strengthen CAAM’s financial position.

Loke added that the financial capability of the aviation authority was one of the factors for FAA’s downgrade.

Mavcom was formed by the Barisan Nasional government, whose functions include commercial licensing of aviation service providers, air traffic rights allocation, competition matters, consumer protection, setting airport charges and administration of public service obligations. – April 21, 2020.