Top world aviation experts are meeting in Fiji's western tourist city of Nadi to discuss strategies to make flying safer in the Asia-Pacific region.

The four-day meeting started Monday and is being organized through the Airports Fiji Limited (AFL).

AFL Manager for Air Traffic Services Vula Seru told the media that the experts would be discussing issues relating to Air Traffic Management which provided services that regulated and assisted aircraft to ensure their safe operations.

Experts attended the meeting are from aviation arthorities including the AFL, The United States Federal Aviation Administration, Air Services Australia, Airways New Zealand, Civil Aviation Authority of Papua New Guinea, Japan Aviation Authority as well as the aviation authorities of Chile.

Those with observer status for the aviation industry also in attendance include Nasa, Airbus, Boeing and Qantas.

Their presence demonstrated an increasing emphasis on safety initiatives in worldwide air traffic management, stressed Seru.

AFL is a fully owned government commercial company establis hed in 1999 and operates 15 airports in Fiji including Nadi and Nausori international airports and 13 other domestic airports located on islands scattered over Fiji's maritime zone.

It also provides Air Traffic Management (ATM) services within the Nadi Flight Information Region (Nadi FIR) which includes the sovereign air spaces of Tuvalu, New Caledonia, Kiribati and Vanuatu as well.

Nadi International Airport welcomes more than 1.2 million international passengers and over 450,000 domestic passengers through its airports annually, while handling over 1.3 million tons of freight. It serves 20 airlines and connects Fiji to 14 cities, internationally.