Four former senior officials from the Road Transport Department (RTD) are scheduled to testify today before an investigative committee examining responsibility for potentially dangerous Takata airbags.
The witnesses include former Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment Minister Petros Xenophontos, current Social Welfare Deputy Ministry Director-General Yiannis Nikolaidis, Senior Road Transport Regulation Officer Eleni Pipi-Hadjikosta, and Sotiris Kolettas.
All previously held management positions at the Road Transport Department and have been summoned to answer questions regarding possible oversights or actions taken during their tenure related to the handling of defective airbags.
Today’s testimonies follow yesterday’s appearance by current RTD Director George Louka, which is expected to help establish a framework of responsibilities within the Ministry of Transport in a case with serious public safety implications.
During his testimony yesterday, Louka, who assumed leadership of the RTD in July 2024, addressed developments in recent months, including communication outcomes and legal opinions from the Law Office.
He stated that the notification chain for vehicles imported from third countries cannot be established in the same way as for vehicles with European type approval.
Each manufacturer handles notification capabilities differently, he noted, adding that such notifications may need to be processed vehicle-by-vehicle on a case-by-case basis.
Louka testified that after the issuance of decrees stipulated in the law, which came into force in February 2025, various implementation challenges emerged, including:
a) The notification chain for imported vehicles cannot be completed, as continuous and reliable notification of recalls to owners of vehicles from third countries cannot be guaranteed (unlike the system for vehicles with European type approval).
b) Most distributors charge for issuing the required certification, increasing costs for citizens.
c) The process has intensified bureaucracy.
d) Registration and transfer of numerous recalled vehicles cannot proceed due to distributors’ inability to implement immediate corrective measures.
The RTD director further noted that on April 23, 2025, the department sent a letter to the Law Office requesting an opinion on whether it could be designated as a market surveillance authority under Regulation 858/2018 to oversee recalls.
He explained that the Road Transport Department has been a type approval authority for many years, issuing EU type approval certificates for manufacturers both within and outside the EU.
The question raised, he added, was whether both authorities could operate under the same department – one issuing EU type approval certificates while the other, as a market surveillance authority, conducting checks on the vehicle type approvals it issued.
The Takata airbag defect, caused by a chemical component that can deteriorate in hot conditions, risks explosive deployment that could project metal fragments into vehicle cabins, potentially causing serious injury to occupants.
It is estimated that at least 27 deaths and hundreds of injuries worldwide have been attributed to the defective Takata airbags.
In Cyprus, at least three deaths have been linked to the faulty Takata airbags.
Read more:
