Police question delays in Kaadeddhoo Airport handover
Police entered the airport on Sunday night, and met with the management to question the delays.
Qasim Ibrahim, the face and founder of Villa Air, pictured before entering 2017's inaugural parliament session.
The police had on Sunday questioned Kaadeddhoo Airport’s management over delays in handing the airport over to the Tourism Ministry.
The Civil Court had issued an injunction against the Tourism Ministry’s notice to terminate its agreement with Villa Air, owned by opposition Jumhooree Party leader, Qasim Ibrahim.
The injunction, issued on 1st February, halted the handover process until the court reached a decision. On 23rd February, the High Court nullified the injunction citing potential damages to the Tourism Ministry.
The management reportedly told officers that the High Court ruling has been appealed at the Supreme Court and that they were awaiting a further verdict, and named said appeal to be the reason for the delay.
Kaadeddhoo Airport is in Gaafu Dhaal Atoll; the officers were from the police station in Thinadhoo Island of the same atoll.
In January, the government had canceled its 50-year agreement, made in November 2013, to operate the airport. Villa Air’s case with the Civil Court seeks to nullify the notice as remedy for damages it may sustain due to the premature termination.
The Tourism Ministry sought to reacquire the airport for violations of civil aviation regulations, an assertion that has since been denied by the company.
The contract was terminated once before, in 2014 after Jumhooree Party defected from the ruling coalition, but the government had repealed the notice.
