Civil Aviation Department has refused to comment on the mounting complaints from several national airline pilots over fatigue caused by long flying hours.
Avas has been able to confirm that several pilots on the Maldivian airline's payroll have been complaining of fatigue after the national airline extended the number of working hours per week from five to seven days.
The agrrieved pilots have singled out the aviation regulator for failing to investigate their claims.
'Maldivian' however refuted the claims saying that "only a handful of pilots" had voiced discontent over the extended work week but none have made their grievances official.
But repeated attempts by Avas to contact Civil Aviation Department have been futile as top officials from the department refused to respond to multiple phone calls and text messages.
Maldives government meanwhile had vowed to devise a system to manage pilot fatigue in the wake of mounting complaints from several national airline 'Maldivian' pilots.
Tourism minister Moosa Zameer in a statement to mark the international civil aviation day, vowed to establish a fatigue risk management system to solve the challenges faced by fatigued civil aviation staff in the country.
Zameer noted that Maldives has continued to follow the standards set by "aviation pioneers" to ensure the best possible services to all local and international passengers.
The minister also said the civil aviation authority was actively working to resolve the issues faced by the country especially to resolve the human resource shortage in the archipelago.
