Developments around airports, flights to the U.S., flight delays. Interview with the head of the Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan

The new head of the Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan in an interview with Tengrinews.kz talked about the main decisions in office, about the plans to open direct flights to the United States. Catalin Radu explained why the country so often delayed flights, and what has changed after the crash of Bek Air.

- Regarding flights to the United States. I know that our airline must acquire a large aircraft to fly such long distances. What else do we need to do to launch direct flights?

 There is a good strategic vision of the state to expand the reach of its national carrier. For AAK side, on technical oversight we work directly with the TSA and the FAA, which are organizations in the United States that regulate flight safety and security. They will assess whether the country is ready to carry out such long-haul direct flights to US.

TSA experts have already twice visited Kazakhstan and evaluated the potential and capabilities of the two airports in Astana and Almaty to open such flights. They were satisfied with the results of these airports. We need to make the changes which were prescribed to improve passenger flow and increase security measures. To that end, we have been provided with equipment that will enhance security measures. Soon we expect a preliminary assesment from the FAA in the first half of 2023. And as soon as Air Astana applies to directly fly to the U.S.,there will be a full audit on our oversight capabilities.

- What are their safety and security requirements?

- On aviation security, additional extra checks are required at the departure airport. On flight safety, an FAA audit will be done in the near future, to identify any gaps that need to be addressed. At this stage, we're trying to work preliminary with them so that if we find any discrepancies, we can correct them and show that we're ready to perform these flights.

- So we're going to have more inspections on departure? Will this affect other flights?

- Certain states require their own controls. We in Kazakhstan adhere to the ICAO standards. According to the ICAO audit, we are at a fairly high level. But countries like the United States, if you have direct flights, they require additional testing to their standard. It won't affect other flights.

- You took over the administration last April, what has changed since you arrived?

- First, we are not “blacklisted” by the European Union as a country. Our airlines can fly to European countries. We were very close to being.

According to the results of ICAO inspections in August 2021, Kazakhstan had an 84 percent compliance rate. The global rate was slightly adjusted in 2022 due to the publication of a new edition of the Protocol Questions by ICAO, which went into effect on January 1, 2022. Kazakhstan now has an 82 percent compliance rate, compared to a global average of 67 percent. I've noticed that these rates have changed consistently across all ICAO member countries.

Second, we reorganized our aviation administration according to the standards and best practices of international organizations like ICAO, EASA and FAA. We've allocate resources to attract local and international experts to work here. We've strengthen AAK’s capability in flight safety and security, and we're continuing to work with international organizations and representatives of civil aviation of other countries. We are increasing the size of our personnel and building capacity as we train our people.

- You said we were going to strengthen safety and security. Could you tell us more about that?

- We modified our national legislation to meet international regulatory standards and we strengthened the control and oversight of the industry - airlines, airports, etc. We introduced certain restrictions, such as on airports where there are problems with the infrastructure, given the passenger traffic.

- When you say nonconformities, do you mean illegal developments around airports as well? (On December 27, 2019, a Bek Air plane took off from Almaty airport to Astana, but lost altitude on takeoff, swerved to the right, broke through a concrete fence, and crashed into an illegally built apartment building. Fifteen people died).

- After the establishment of the Aviation Administration, we began to examine the problem more closely and eliminate those obstacles that did violate the standards. At the same time, we applied increased control, applied restrictive measures, and prescribed measures for the removal of these obstacles. We use drones, to map in more detail and show the exact location and height of the obstacles. These critical obstacles have been found in almost all airports in the country.

Because these areas do not belong to airports, airport management has no control over them.

The work is done in close cooperation with local executive agencies so that they understand the aviation regulation in this area. We have been issuing inspection ordinances since 2020, but they are a challenge for us because they are issued by the aviation industry, and we must work with local executive agencies on these issues. These areas do not belong to airports, so airport management has no way of influencing this.

- I want to understand, are the buildings built around airports violations on the ground or gaps in our legislation?

- We have the necessary legislation, both as aviation and in the Land Code. The issue here is zoning. We have this problem in many airports, but it's also a problem in many airports around the world. For example, Heathrow in the UK, Zurich in Switzerland, Brussels in Belgium, Indira Gandhi in India, Dallas/Fort Worth in the US, Hong Kong. In these countries there are developments on airport lands. Nevertheless, they are marked and so pilots know where these buildings are when they conduct takeoff and landing operations.

International aviation law allows such developments, we are not trying to limit the development of airport landing areas in general. But it must be strictly regulated and must not create risks for passengers.

"In Shymkent, we imposed restrictions on flights on one runway, the same work is done in Almaty. Since there are elements of development there that pose a danger. But this work is not possible without the support of the akimats of the local executive bodies. Our goal as an administration is to protect the passengers and to increase safety".

- I ask because in Talgar last year officials were convicted for manipulation of land near Almaty airport. They were illegally selling land for construction near the Almaty airport. The impression is that such objects were built everywhere illegally. And you say that such objects were identified in many airports of the country.

- Our goal is to identify potentially dangerous objects. There is legislation that regulates the allocation of territories. We are working with the Akimats to forbid to prescribe areas for development and to take the measures prescribed by our inspectors. It's not our competence to say whether there is corruption or another reason. Our goal is to make them aware of the problems and advice on the best methods to eliminate the risks posed to flight safety.

It's not our competence to say whether there is corruption or another reason.

"During the inspection of Almaty airport, 24 objects were identified, seven of which are obstructive, but do not affect aviation safety in any way. 17 are residential developments, they directly affect flight safety. The state must decide how this resource can be reallocated. I don’t think we can afford to lose 7 million passengers for 17 residential buildings that can be relocated".

- So, they won’t demolish them?

- They must demolish them. Otherwise, we will be forced to restrict flights at Almaty airport with direct impact of the local and national economy.

- Are there also residential houses on the territory of other airports?

- Yes. The airport areas of Almaty and Shymkent are the most built-up areas. But we work with the local executive bodies to redistribute the residents living in these houses or to inform the Akimats what work needs to be done.

- And what problems did you identify at Shymkent airport?

- Several objects were identified there, including residential buildings, electrical poles, and trees. We have made restrictions on one course of the runway at Shymkent airport. We are now working with the akimats to remove the identified obstacles and mark the the ones that may remain.

- What role did the building the plane crashed into play in the Bek Air tragedy in Almaty?

- An investigation was underway. The report says that the aircraft was unable to climb due to incomplete de-icing treatment, with the landing gear retrracted. The building, from the point of view of flight safety, was not an obstacle, because the plane should have reached altitude by then. According to the report, the de-icing work had not been done properly. All of this together led to the tragedy. The fact that the house was in the area made the situation worse but does not represent the cause of the accident, because the plane should have been in the air by then.

 - Tell us about your plans for the coming year. What issues are still unresolved?

- We continue to work on not being included in the Europpean Safety List (black list). We have to fulfill the promises we made to the European Commission. This includes the reorganization of the structure of the administration, digitalization, amendments to the legislation, the hiring of staff. Now the results are positive, but there is a lot of work to do. This year, the Chairman of the Air Safety Committee will visit us to discuss safety issues at a high level. We need both political support as well as the necessary resources.

We are getting ready to receive an FAA audit to obtain a "Category 1" and start the direct flights between Kazakhstan and the United States. Kazakhstan is an economic leader in the region, and we want it to become an aviation leader as well. We're going to show the industry and the region by our own example how we can help them gain more control. Because the aviation industry is primarily an international industry.

- Why don't airlines punish flight delays? Yes, they have objective reasons in each case, but the fact that the reasons appear so often is not cause for concern.

- Passenger traffic continues to grow around the world and in Kazakhstan has already surpassed pre-pandemic levels. We were expecting these figures in 2025, but it's already happening now. This puts additional pressure on the airlines. Also, the problem with flight delays is a global problem and is expected.

People were forced out of the industry during the pandemic, some of whom never returned. We have a significant shortage of workers who load luggage, do fuel delivery and other service work, and there's also a shortage of pilots and maintenance workers. Whereas before the pandemic technical work took maybe one hour, now it can take two and a half hours. At this point in the world, 30 percent of employees have not returned to the aviation industry since the pandemic. This affects flight planning.

There is a difficulty in that a pilot, if he has flown a certain number of hours, will not be able to do the next flights and must wait until the end of the month. When there is a shortage of pilots, this is felt more acutely.

Many things are out of control - weather conditions, collisions with birds, technical issues. Passengers are not always informed as to what caused it, but all measures are taken to eliminate technical problems and ensure the safety of the flight. When we plan flight schedules, we have a kind of ideal picture that there will not be any technical problems or natural incidents, but in reality, there are certain situations when the planning has to change due to external conditions.

To support the current passenger flow, 14 aircraft were purchased last year. We expect about the same number this year.

- In 2021, Peter Griffiths (former head of the Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan - note) said that he was preparing the AAK to be fully serviced by Kazakhstani employees.

- He was right. That was three years ago. At that time, an independent organization had just been established. The reform, which was carried out by the Civil Aviation Committee, is unique. No other area of Kazakhstan's economy has introduced such an approach to work and not enshrined at the legislative level. The approaches to civil aviation management have changed dramatically. It is important that the implemented approaches fully comply with the documents of ICAO and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA).

We are now in the middle of development. We are working with international organizations. Nevertheless, we still need international experts. We have increased the number of vacancies in the company and in a few days, we will start hiring technical staff, around 50 open positions. We also need to fully train Kazakhstani personnel so that they can perform control and supervisory functions themselves. We need more people, AAK it's a young and dynamic organization now, but we need more experience that international experts can bring.

"It will take about two or three more years for AAK to become a strong, stable company.

I would also like to train our employees in international organizations, send them to work with ICAO, EASA for two or three years, so they can then come back and bring best practices to Kazakhstan.

I hope I will be the last international expert to lead the administration. We should train the next aviation leaders from Kazakhstan.

It will never be the case that the aviation industry is fully self sufficient, and we don't need anyone else. Aviation is international and the developments will go on all the time and working together with other aviation authorities and international partners is important.

- How do you assess the expertise of the AAK staff? I heard that your first decision was to raise the salaries of your employees.

- Not really the first step. My first step was to use more effective and efficient our resources and to cover the gaps identified in the work of AAK. But we are a government organization and the level of salaries in AAK was a challenge for us. It's essential that the salaries of the organization's employees match the salaries of employees in the industry. That is, pilots, engineers, air traffic controllers. Otherwise, all the good employees will leave.

For the previous three years, we didn't give inflationary raises. And industry salaries were going up. To attract good experts, we're moving completely to a self-funded system. A new law has been signed, I think by the second half of the year we will not depend on the state budget and we will be able to keep the salaries of our employees at a high level and give them better opportunities.

One of the reasons for blacklisting was the lack of qualified personnel. It was both a state and personal responsibility of mine to improve staffing and allocate available resources.

- And you were able to get a significant increase in salaries?

- Yes. Last year we already had four top experts leave the organization and go to work in the industry. Our employees were offered salaries two to three times higher. We do not want to lose specialists; otherwise, we won't be able to get "Category 1", we'll get on the "black list" and won't be able to fly to US or Europe.

- And what will the self-financing come out of?

- This is international practice, adopted by more than 50% of the aviation administrations in the world. Self-financing is done by charging a fee for the services the organization provides. By services, I mean oversight functions.

For example, when we do oversight inspections for Kazaeronavigatsiya, SCAT, Air Astana, and other companies, there will be a fee charged for that. The amount of the fee will grow in proportion to the growth of the budget in the industry. Thus, our organization will be able to be financially on par with the industry. This will allow us to recruit highly qualified personnel.

Aviation is one of the safest forms of transport, because we have a culture of safety and non-punishment. I am sure Kazakhstan will be able to become the Central Asia regional leader in this sector, and this will have a positive effect on all business and passengers.

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