IPNEWS: The President of the Republic, H.E. Dr. George Manneh Weah, has appointed Mr. Darlington T. Karnley as Manager of the Liberia Airport Authority (LAA).
Mr. Karnley was appointed on Wednesday, May 4, 2022.
The new LAA Manager presently works at Boeing, America’s leading aircraft manufacturer as Avionics Tech Specialist Manager, managing all Installation, inspection, test, adjust, or repairs avionics equipment, such as radar, radio, navigation, and missile control systems in aircraft or space vehicles.
He is also an Aviation Maintenance Technician in Airframe and Powerplant.
Mr. Karnley, comes to the portfolio with a rich background in the field of Aviation and is a Master Degree Candidate in Aviation Management from the Aviation Institute of Maintenance in Philadelphia.
He also holds a Bachelor of Science Degree from Cuttington University, Bachelor of Arts in Theology from Southern Adventist University in the US.
His appointment is subject to confirmation by the Honorable Liberian Senate where applicable.
Last week, the Liberia Council of Churches (LCC) called on President George Weah to immediately dismiss the entire management team at the Roberts International Airport (RIA) for what LCC terms gross incompetence.
LCC president Bishop Kortu Brown in an interview with Prime FM over the weekend said the incompetent leadership ability exhibited at the RIA which caused SN Brussels Airlines to land in neighboring Sierra Leone due to the lack of electricity is an international disgrace.
“It’s shameful that a major facility like the RIA is being poorly managed, and this should serve as a deterrence to the government. If [it does not] take action against those officials, [it] will be held liable for any disaster,” said Bishop Brown.
Everyone in recent times has been talking about the poor management of the airport and I think that situation needs concrete actions on the part of the government,” he added.
The Liberian clergy indicated that the airport is the nation’s premium airport and one of the most important facilities in this country, urging the government not to allow incompetent people to manage it.
According to Bishop Brown, there has to be accountability for their actions, arguing that you can’t have people doing their own thing and going with impunity.
“You don’t run [a] government like that. If President Weah wants his government to be taken seriously, then he must take action to avoid embarrassment,” he urged.
It can be recalled that a late-night power outage on April 27, at the Roberts International Airport, forced an inbound Brussels Airlines flight to return to Freetown, from whence it came.
The incident caused panic over the safety of the passengers aboard the aircraft. The power outage, which lasted for about 30 minutes, according to RIA’s Acting Managing Director, Martin Hayes, was due to a power switchover at the Roberts Flight Information Region (FIR).
The FIR provides electricity for the RIA control tower and the runway. The aircraft was scheduled to land at about 7:15 P.M.
