THE transport ministry on Tuesday moved to stanch criticisms that the veteran Noel Hylton is unsuitable to chair the Air Policy Committee from which Professor Stephen Vasciannie was recently removed.

In a statement to the Observer, the ministry defended Hylton’s appointment to the job, outlining his long experience and qualification in air transportation and insisting that he satisfied the main prerequisites of the chairmanship of the Air Policy Committee.

“Therefore, his competence and suitability for the position really should not be a subject of any serious debate,” the ministry said in response to views expressed in an Observer editorial and letters to the editor.

The ministry said the work of the Air Policy Committee was primarily technical in nature, with global experience in aviation, air transportation and negotiations generally, being the main requirements of the holder of the position.

It argued that the committee was once part of the Ministry of Transport and Works, to ensure that all components of the air policy of the government were uniform and participatory.

“The new appointment was made after an agreement was reached between the ministries of transport and works and foreign affairs and foreign trade, in consultation with the Attorney-General’s Department, to have the transport ministry, as it rightly should, name the chairman of the committee.

“Our discussions dealt with the suitability of the person for the position of chairman, based on a notion that had emerged that a background in international law was a critical necessity of the chairmanship of the committee. The notion apparently arose because Mr Kenneth Rattray and Professor Stephen Vasciannie, the two most recent former chairmen, were well recognised legal minds,” said the statement issued through the ministry’s communication manager, Reginald Allen.

It said there could be “no reasonable basis to question the suitability of Mr Hylton for the position, considering his extensive experience in the air travel and shipping sectors and in international negotiations globally”.

The statement traced Hylton’s service in air travel from the time he was appointed a director of Air Jamaica in 1979 and became president and managing director of the national airline in 1981.

As a former deputy chairman of JAMPRO (now Jamaica Trade and Invest), Hylton received countless national and international awards for his work in public administration, especially the global impact of his work at the Port Authority of Jamaica,” the ministry said.

“Mr Hylton’s extensive global experience in both the aviation and maritime sectors, plus his critical negotiating skills and experience, represent the main prerequisites of the chairmanship of the Air Policy Committee…Indeed, he has served his country well at the highest levels and is confidently expected to do likewise on the Air Policy Committee.

“As for the application of legal principles in his capacity as chairman of the committee, Mr Hylton, like any other head of agency or organisation within the ministry, will have the benefit of advice from within the Attorney-General’s Department, as well as from the ministry’s in-house legal counsel,” the statement added.