Doctors from across the Pacific gathered in Nadi, Fiji, from 26 April to 1 May 2026 for the Pacific Aviation Health Conference, supported through the partnership between the Australia–Pacific Partnerships for Aviation (P4A) and Australia’s Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA). 

The conference supported doctors to upskill or maintain their qualifications to provide aviation medical examinations and certification for pilots, air traffic controllers, and aircrew members across the region. The training also provided foundational content required for designation as an Aviation Medical Examiner for CASA Australia and the Civil Aviation Authority of New Zealand, while supporting professional development for current Designated Aviation Medical Examiners. 

Aviation medicine plays an important role in keeping Pacific aviation safe. Pilots, air traffic controllers, and aircrew members perform safety-critical roles and must meet medical standards to carry out their duties safely. For many Pacific countries, access to qualified aviation medical expertise remains limited, making regional training and locally based capability essential. 

Speaking at the conference, Lucy Bechtel, Assistant Executive Director of P4A, said, “Developing regional capacity through locally based, well-trained medical examiners supports regulatory compliance, improves access for aviation personnel, and strengthens national ownership of aviation safety outcomes.” 

She added that the participation of Pacific medical practitioners was “not only an individual professional milestone, but a meaningful contribution to your countries and to the region.” 

From CASA’s perspective, the conference also reflected the value of regional collaboration across aviation health and safety. 

Dr Kate Manderson, Principal Medical Officer, Stakeholder Engagement Division, CASA, said, “As colleagues in the Pacific we routinely collaborate across all medical specialties, so it’s a natural fit for us all to share our knowledge and skills in aerospace medicine as well. This event has brought together an impressive group of medical and operational staff, and we look forward to many future opportunities to work together in the region following this meeting.” 

The conference brought together medical practitioners from Fiji, Kiribati, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga and Vanuatu. It created space for clinicians, regulators and institutions to deepen their technical knowledge of aviation medicine, while also sharing insights, challenges and solutions from their own national contexts. 

P4A acknowledged CASA’s role in facilitating the conference, including the contribution of CASA’s Principal Medical Officer. CASA’s work with P4A forms part of a broader two-year Australian Government-funded initiative to expand aviation safety assistance across the Pacific, including aviation medicine training, regulator maturity assessments, foundational training, work placements, regional aviation safety education seminars, and support for the ICAO Pacific Liaison Office. 

Through this partnership, P4A and CASA are supporting the people and systems that help keep Pacific aviation safe. By investing in aviation medicine capability, the program is helping improve access to specialist medical certification, strengthen regulatory compliance, and support safer aviation outcomes across the region.