The government cannot issue a decree outlawing the levying of administrative charges by car dealerships to replace faulty airbags, Transport Minister Alexis Vafeades said on Wednesday.

Speaking after the day’s cabinet meeting, he said his ministry had examined the possibility of issuing a new decree to stop dealerships charging such fees, but that it had “become apparent that there is no legislation” which allows the government to issue such a decree.

“For this reason, we will not issue a decree, but we urge and call on distributors to avoid charges. This issue is serious for the government. Distributors must take part in this effort with the recall of all these vehicles and not burden people with this additional cost,” he said.

At the same time, he announced that the government is to appoint a three-member investigative committee to examine issues related to defective airbags, saying the legal service had advised the government to do so, and that he would now determine the committee’s “terms of reference”.

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Once its duties have been outlined, he said, he will return with a list of names he will recommend become committee members. This, he said, may be done as early as next week.

Earlier, he had said therate at which faulty airbags are being replaced in Cyprus will “increase dramatically” once a batch of new parts arrives on the island.

Speaking to CyBC radio, he said he was confident that the requisite number of parts would be found.

For example, he said, Honda has identified “a number of airbags”, and it is “only a matter of time” before they arrive in Cyprus, while Toyota is set to take receipt of a total of 9,000 airbags very soon.

He also commented on the matter of a faulty airbag which, according to television channel Alpha, exploded in Limassol, piercing the roof of the car in which it was housed.

He said the road transport department believes that this is not a new development, and that the explosion in fact occurred three months ago, but said a new investigation would be carried out to ensure a “clear picture of what happened”.

“The fact that we had another incident, regardless of when it happened, proves to us that in Cyprus, the possibility of finding more such vehicles exists. That is why we have recommended not using these vehicles until we change the parts,” he said,

His comments came a day after he had said he believes all companies will be able to replace all the defective airbags which have been subject to recall within the eight-month timeframe set out in his decree.

“Mazda has ordered and expects to supply 4,000 airbags, but other companies are also placing orders with the aim of implementing the recalls,” he said.

He added that by the end of this week, the road transport department is expected to be able to collect and publish again the list of vehicles which are subject to recall, with that number set to “significantly” fall from the more than 80,000 which were recalled in the initial decree issued at the start of the month.

The process has not been without hitches, however, with Vafeades saying Toyota has informed him that it currently does not have the requisite personnel to deal with the more than 30,000 recalls which have been issued.

He said that to deal with this matter, the road transport department has contacted Toyota Europe, “which also stated its commitment to implement the recalls within the specified timeframe, though it did raise the issue of a lack of suitable personnel”.

For this reason, he said, his ministry is “exploring ways to support distributors” and respond to the requests they have made regarding finding suitable space to carry out the recalls, finding human resources, and providing facilities to ensure the timely ordering of enough airbags.

The issue of airbags stems from the production of faulty airbags manufactured by Japanese company Takata. The company’s airbags suffer a fault related to exposure to high levels of heat or humidity, with which means they have a tendency to explode when released under such circumstances.

This explosion shoots the airbag’s metal inflator outwards and in the direction of the person it was designed to protect, potentially causing further injuries or, in some cases, death.

Vafeades earlier this month decreed the recall of over 80,000 cars which are fitted with potentially fatal Takata airbags, all of which are to be replaced over a period of eight months. Exactly 276 vehicles were immobilised immediately, and as such have had their road tax and MOT certificates rescinded.

Owners of recalled vehicles not on the list of 276 are entitled to use them without restrictions but are required to make an appointment with their car’s manufacturer’s Cyprus-based distributor within eight months to have their airbags replaced. Their road tax and MOT certificates remain valid.

The transport ministry “recommends” that those with recalled vehicles do not use them and use other vehicles and other methods of transport. However, there is no obligation for people to follow this recommendation, and motorists are not at risk of paying a fine for using their vehicles.

Motorists can check whether their vehicles have been subject to vehicles on the transport ministry’s website.

Vafeades said those who have had their vehicles’ airbags changed should contact the road transport department on [email protected], “so that we can remove them from the list”.

The issue of faulty Takata airbags has been ongoing for over two years, with it believed that the death of 24-year-old Kyriakos Oxinos in January 2023 was caused in part by a faulty airbag.

More recently, it is now believed that the death of 19-year-old Styliani Giorgalli in October may have been caused by a faulty Takata airbag.