Island Aviation to transfer three departments to GMR

Island Aviation Services (IAS) will lose its profitable cargo services, ground services and Maldivian ground operations to Indian infrastructure giant GMR when it takes over the operations at Male’ international airport, reports Haveeru.

IAS Managing Director ‘Bandu’ Ibrahim Saleem told Haveeru that the company recorded a Rf67 million profit from the three departments in 2009 (Rf56 million in 2008).

GMR is to transfer 248 employees to the same posts and salaries under a two year contract commencing in late November, IAS Admin Manager Ali Nashaath told Haveeru.

“We got the assurance on last Monday. We have already started the transferring process,” she said. “We transferred those departments as we did not have any other choice,” adding that ministers had sought to extend the arrangement to 2012.