The ACI EUROPE/World (WAGA) Annual General Assembly, Conference, and Exhibition 2023 is taking place in Barcelona (Spain) from June 26 to 28, 2023. The Kazakh side is represented by the Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan JSC, Chairman of the Board of Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport JSC Yergazy Zholdassov and Director General of Aktau International Airport JSC Meruyert Zholdybayeva. The delegation is headed by Сatalin Radu, Director General of the Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan.

ACI Assembly (ACI - Airports Council International) is the most important and global meeting on the development of airports, which gathers the representatives of the aviation authorities of different countries and the airport industry’s top managers. During the conference, aviation experts worked to develop policies, programmes, and best practices that will contribute to the development of airport standards around the world. Conference highlights included presentations on the current and future state of the airport industry. This year, particular emphasis was placed on the automation of pre-flight procedures: biometrics and digital identification. 

During the conference an official ceremony of joining by Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport JSC to Airports Council International (ACI) as a member of the European branch of ACI EUROPE was held on the platform of WAGA 2023. In addition, the intention of Aktau International Airport JSC to join the ACI in 2024 was announced during the forum.

The ceremony was attended by Director General of ACI World Luis Felipe de Oliveira, Director General of ACI EUROPE Olivier Jankovec, Director General of Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan Catalin Radu, and Chairman of the Board of Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport JSC Yergazy Zholdassov.

It should be noted that membership in ACI EUROPE will allow the capital Airport to join six European committees: Facilitation & Customer Services Committee, Policy Committee, Technical, Operations & Safety Committee, Aviation Security Committee, and Environmental Strategy Committee. In addition, the membership will also enable participation in four European Forums: Regional Airport Forum, Commercial Forum, Digital Communications Forum, and Leadership and Human Capital Forum.

The Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan also held a meeting with SITA at the WAGA site. Currently, the issue of implementing biometrics at Astana airport is being studied. It should be noted that biometrics is a technological trend in civil aviation.

During the conference, the Kazakh delegation also participated in the Evacuation of Aircraft Unable to Move seminar. The seminar was presented by RESQTEC, a company with 40 years of experience in the design and manufacture of rescue and aviation evacuation equipment. The seminar’s objective is to understand the skills and abilities required to manage an aircraft evacuation effectively and safely. The seminar presented the measures to be provided promptly in case of emergencies at airports and beyond to shorten the airfield closure time and return to normal operations as well as minimize damage to the aircraft itself. 

Based on the results of the official meetings of the Kazakhstan delegation, an agreement has been reached on a visit of the Director General of ACI World Luis Felipe de Oliveira and Director General of ACI EUROPE Olivier Jankovec to the Republic of Kazakhstan in the autumn of this year. In addition, an agreement has been reached with RESQTEC to hold a workshop on the Evacuation of Aircraft Unable to Move in Kazakhstan. 

For reference: Airports Council International (ACI) represents the collective interests of airports around the world to promote excellence in the aviation industry. ACI works with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the International Air Transport Association (IATA), and other aviation organizations worldwide. ACI serves 717 members, operating 1950 airports in 185 countries.