The decade from 1991 to 2001 was a pivotal one for Moldovan aviation and one in which Mr Victor Topa had a privileged view of.
Mr. Topa played a leading role in steering the privatisation of the industry and preparing it for integration into the European aviation sector.
There were incredible technical and professional challenges as part of this journey. Moldova had to quickly take large steps in relation to the process of taking a Soviet era industry and bringing it up to European standards. Steps that took other countries years and decades to make but which Moldova had to address incredibly quickly, and in the context of new post-Soviet government structures.
Thrust into a leadership role at a pivotal moment in the country’s history, and the formative moment of the industry, Mr Topa demonstrated unprecedented leadership and technical skill to shape the process of privatisation.
The result of overcoming these challenges was the introduction of modern jets, the development of a transport hub, and a positioning of the industry ready for a gradual integration into the European Common Aviation Area. These achievements were dual in nature as in addition to an entirely new private sector, a new and reformed regulatory body also emerged very quickly during this period.
Such a transformative period in European aviation history deserves more attention and perhaps a complete retrospective reappraisal of how such technical and administrative challenges were overcome in such a relatively short time period.
