Fiji Airports has defended its executive and board remuneration, saying a recent report created a misleading impression by failing to provide proper operational context.
In a statement, the state-owned enterprise said figures published from its 2024 Annual Report were accurate but had been presented without explaining the circumstances surrounding the previous financial year.
The company said 2023 was not a normal operating period as it was still recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, with reduced executive capacity and several senior leadership roles vacant.
“The 2023 period was not a normal operating year. Fiji Airports was still transitioning out of COVID-19 recovery settings, with reduced executive capacity across the organisation,” said the statement.
“During much of that period, the company was led by an Acting Chief Executive Officer, while the majority of the senior leadership roles remained vacant. This naturally resulted in significantly lower remuneration costs than would apply under a fully staffed executive structure that is required to take the company forward to ensure its success.”
It said the 2024 figures reflect a return to normal operations, including the appointment of a substantive CEO and recruitment of executives across key areas such as operations, finance, legal and infrastructure.
” The reported change reflects the transition from a constrained, partially staffed organisation to a properly resourced executive team responsible for managing Fiji’s critical aviation infrastructure,” said Fiji Airports.
Fiji Airports rejected suggestions of an abnormal rise in pay, stating executive remuneration accounted for about four per cent of total staff costs of $23.9 million.
The company also said board remuneration increased in 2024 as membership returned to full strength and payments were updated for the first time since 2009, in line with government policy.
Fiji Airports said it remained committed to transparency, with all remuneration disclosed in its Annual Report.
