THE Civil Aviation Authority of Solomon Islands (CAASI) will take over the role of interviewing a shortlist for a new Chief Executive Officer (CEO) for Solomon Airlines after the Board of the national carrier has failed to appoint a ‘fit person’ for the top paying job.

Sources said officials from CAASI, the government’s top civil aviation regulatory body will travel to Brisbane next month to conduct the interviews.

No date has been confirmed for the interviews, nor the number of candidates on the shortlist.

“The interview is to find a fit person to run Solomon Airlines,” sources familiar with the arrangement said.

It is understood CAASI has taken the unprecedented step in taking over conducting the job interviews after concerns that initial choices made by the Board of Solomon Airlines failed to meet CAASI standard requirements.

As a result of the blunders by the Board in appointing a new CEO, not once but twice, Solomon Airlines has been operating without an Accountable Officer since mid-year, when former CEO, Captain Ron Sumsum of Vanuatu was forced to vacate the job.

An Accountable officer is the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), responsible for the daily operations of any airlines as well as being answerable to authorities should anything go wrong.

Gus Krutz, the most senior officer in Solomon Airlines, was appointed interim CEO but he too had since left after his tenure had lapsed at the end of November this year.

Since then the Board, led by logging businessman, Austin Holmes, made two appointments without adequate due diligence on whether the choices align with the requirements of the CAASI.

In the first appointment, Solomon Airlines spent about AUD70, 000 on a recruitment agency, to find the suitable candidate.

It turned out that civil aviation authorities in both Australia and Solomon Islands had safety issues with the individual.

Subsequently, the Board was forced into terminating the arrangement and had gone back to the drawing board.

Its second choice was no different, except that according to Chairman Holmes, the Board had signed a contract with Captain Brett Gerber.

The contract signing was done without first making the necessary checks with CAASI.

The potential for a lawsuit against Solomon Airlines for dishonouring the contract looms larger every day.

“The Board’s saviour is the interview being conducted with Capt. Gerber and others in January. If CAASI declares him a fit person to run Solomon Airlines, then the Board does not have an issue in terms of a potential pending legal suit.

“If not, such a law suit could run into hundreds of thousands or even millions of dollars,” one airline expert said.