New Zealand's Civil Aviation Authority is facing scrutiny after its Deputy Chairman was found to have revealed information about a rival carrier to an airline in which he has a stake, reports Newsroom. Peter Griffiths, who has an interest in Great Barrier Airlines (Auckland International), informed that airline about the impending grounding of competitor carrier Sunair Aviation (Tauranga) in a situation the CAA has called an 'error of judgement'.
Griffiths apologised to Sunair and has now resigned. But Sunair CEO, Dan Power, doesn't believe this is enough.
"The chairman needs to do some homework to ensure that there are no more conflicts and there are no undue influences being exerted," Power said. "I personally at this point have no confidence in the organisation."
According to Newsroom, Griffiths acquired a jointly-held 25% stake in Barrier Airlines in April, 2017. Since then, three of its competitors – Sunair, FlyStark (Whitianga) and Fly My Sky (Taumarunui) – have been on the receiving end of CAA actions.
As well as Barrier Airlines, Griffiths also has a stake in Wings Over Whales; however, the CAA says his position on the board should have presented no issues as he was not involved in regulatory decisions.
"On balance, providing that conflicts of interest are managed correctly and board members do not act on information held then the benefits of having some sector knowledge/involvement on the board outweighs the risks," the CAA said in a statement. CAA chairman Nigel Gould said after an internal debrief, he considered the matter to be dealt with.
