The AAK project, which is a part of Step 68 Nation Plan implementation is now halfway through the process to deliver an organization that provides the efficiency of the UKCAA and EASA regulation models, and the visit served as an external review of the project. The reports submitted by the European Commission (EC) and European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), as well as ICAO virtual validation mission and the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) visit included observations on progress made in the focus areas. The EC and EASAexperts evaluated the steps taken by the Civil Aviation Committee (CAC) and the Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan (AAK) to ensure certification and oversight of air operators in compliance with the relevant international safety standards.

The following key areas of CAC and AAK activities were subjected to evaluation:

-​ The organization and human resources;

-​ Aviation regulations;

-​ Personnel licensing and training organizations;

-​ Oversight of air operators;

-​ Safety Management System;

-​ Training and standardization of inspecting staff.

Following the evaluation, it was reported that the aviation regulator is making a good progress and should reach its planned target ICAO effectiveness of 90% in the next full audit of Kazakhstan which is due late 2023 early 2024. Areas for improvement are Air Accident Investigation safety reporting, Just Culture,and organizational and financial structure to maintain the integrity of the UK and EASA models.

The reports detailed areas where further work is expected to reach the required efficiencies. Peter Griffiths, AAK Director General, said: ‘As we build the regulatory model for Kazakhstan, it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive and thorough peer review of the progress. These reports are very welcome as they contain views on what still needs to be done to achieve the desired completion. However, the reports indicate we are on the right path, thus we are confident that we will achieve the goal set by the President for the Aviation Industry of the country’.

The next steps are to conclude a contract with the European Aviation Safety Agency for the three-yearsupport, that includes support from Ireland assisting with oversight of Air Astana fleet registration changes. Following the inspection by the USA TSA we will startdiscussions on FAA Cat 1 in the spring of 2022.