Industry meeting on the development of civil aviation was held chaired by the Vice-Minister of Industry and Infrastructural Development of Kazakhstan, Berik Kamaliyev via videoconferencing.

The representatives of the Committee of Civil Aviation, JSC "Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan", national aviation enterprises, industry veterans, Committee of Logistics and Transportation of Atamekеn NCE’s and Kazakhstan Small Aviation Association participated in the event.

The agenda included a discussion of the 2021 outcomes and plans for 2022.

Talgat Lastayev, Chairman of the Civil Aviation Committee, Linda Orlady, General Director of Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan JSC, Azat Bekturov, General Director of RSE Kazaeronavigatsia, Alma Aliguzhinova, Chief Planning Officer of Air Astana, Vladimir Denisov, President of SCAT Airlines, Plamen Atanasov, President of Qazaq Air, Gabit Tazhimuratov, Board Chairman of Nur-Sultan Airport, Simons Zitcers, Senior Vice President of Almaty Airport and Beken Seydakhmetov, Rector of JSC Civil Aviation Academy made their presentations.

At the meeting, the Civil Aviation Committee informed about the growth of the industry's statistical indicators, improvement of flight safety, resumption of domestic and international air flights and modernization of air transport infrastructure.

In his speech, Talgat Lastayev noted that one of the most significant achievements is the successful completion of the ICAO Coordinated Validation Mission (ICVM) audit. As a result, Kazakhstan's safety performance improved to 84%, which is 15% higher than the global average.

The Committee is working on amendments and additions to the Law of the RK "On amendments and additions to some legislation on transport issues". The draft law proposes the introduction of a regulation rule to the use of drones, namely the implementation of certification, the establishment of requirements for remote identification and the designation of zones for their use.

Regulation is being implemented to allow airlines to maintain a register of individuals whose air transportation is restricted. However, citizens may be included in the list only for offences on board and only if their culpability has been proven by criminal or administrative proceedings.

In addition, the draft law contains important and industry-relevant amendments intended to prepare for the successful completion of the next ICAO audit for compliance with international standards.
Within the framework of the control and supervision functions, the Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan in 2021 carried out 76 inspections and 16 certifications of airlines, 41 inspections and 17 certifications of aerodromes, 53 inspections in the field of air navigation and 84 inspections in the field of aviation safety. Based on the inspection results, 172 airworthiness certificates were issued. Eight aviation training centres were certified and 411 aviation personnel certificates were issued.

Linda Orlady, Acting Director General of AAK, stressed that the first transfer of Qazaq Air from the Aruba register to the RoK register has been completed.

In the meeting, the industry stakeholders discussed the issues related to the domestic aviation fuel market, tariff policy and staffing.

Every year the industry faces a lack of aviation fuel due to seasonal repair works at refineries and limited aviation fuel production. The situation with the supply of aviation fuel has stabilized slightly, but for a system solution to this problem, the Ministry has prepared proposals, to include short- and long-term perspectives, working together with the Ministry of Energy of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The Vice-Minister agreed to hold some focused meetings to discuss the solutions to these issues.

Generally, the meeting was fruitful and reflected the significant achievements of the industry over the past year and discussed the challenges ahead for the coming period.

The main task for the industry in the next two years is the successful passing of the ICAO audit in 2023-2024 with an increase in the level of flight safety standards compliance over 90%. Cooperation between the Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan and the US Transportation Security Administration will continue as part of the establishment of direct flights to the US.

Also, CAA will continue to work towards the resumption of pre-pandemic level international traffic as the global epidemiological situation improves and infrastructure upgrades as part of the National Project "Strong Regions - the Driver of the Country's Development".