Amid Calls for Reform in the Aviation Sector, the Liberia Airport Authority is Set to Implement a Comprehensive Realignment of its Human Resources

MARGIBI COUNTY, LIBERIA: In a move endorsed by a formal resolution of its Board of Directors, the Liberia Airport Authority (LAA) has sanctioned a full-scale human resource realignment set to begin in early July 2025.

The reform initiated is geared towards an institutional shakeup that will see the retirement, downsizing, rightsizing, and reshuffling of its workforce in a push to overhaul operational inefficiencies and align with international aviation standards.

By: Abraham Sylvester Panto

The decision, described as both strategic and uncompromising, is aimed at restoring the Authority’s functionality, eliminating structural deadweight, and repositioning Liberia’s aviation sector for long-term sustainability and compliance with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO).

According to an official press statement issued Saturday, June 28, 2025, LAA noted that the restructuring will not be symbolic or selective, but a comprehensive personnel recalibration driven by performance metrics, institutional demands, and the pressing need to clean up an overstretched human resource framework.

The Management has clarified that the realignment is neither a witch-hunt nor a politically motivated purge, but rather a calculated move to modernize the Authority’s internal systems and meet critical reform benchmarks under the government’s ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development.

The decision, reached through a formal board authorization, empowers Management to immediately implement workforce reduction measures, retire non-essential personnel, and reassign critical staff based on operational relevance, competence, and regulatory necessity.

In ensuring procedural integrity, the LAA has confirmed that all actions will strictly comply with the Decent Work Act of 2015, Civil Service Agency Standing Orders, and relevant labor and governance instruments to protect the rights and entitlements of all affected employees.

Officials inside the Authority reveal that the upcoming purge follows months of internal audits, during which departments were assessed for redundancies, inefficiencies, and misaligned job roles that continue to hamper institutional performance.

The results, which informed the Board’s resolution, laid the groundwork for what is now being executed as a complete human resource reset, targeting outdated structures and introducing a streamlined operational hierarchy.

The Airport Authority has also disclosed that staff with retirement eligibility will be disengaged through a phased but uncompromising process, while others will be subjected to rightsizing or reassignment based on job necessity and functional productivity.

In anticipation of public scrutiny, the LAA has emphasized its commitment to keeping airport operations uninterrupted, with strategic coverage and contingency personnel mobilized to avoid disruption in passenger processing, cargo handling, and air traffic coordination during the reform process.