The Civil Aviation Committee of the MIID of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan JSC have been working for some time with ICAO and WHO experts on disease transmission by air. As a result of this Kazakhstan was asked to join CAPSCA the voluntary International body set up by ICAO and WHO to address disease transmission risk. This is only a small part of the work performed by the country’s aviation authorities to improve aviation security. The complexity of performed work became an International body’s recognition of the progress made in aviation security.

Currently, CAPSCA experts are discussing measures to restore passenger traffic in the context of the spread of COVID -19. CAPSCA’s Continuing Operations meetings have been held on a regular basis online with civil aviation stakeholders in close collaboration with WHO, public health authorities and ICAO focal points. Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan has appointed one of its medical team and an operational expert to join these forums.

Passenger flights are seen as part of a complete aviation recovery program and special attention is paid to restoring passenger confidence while addressing health care risks through specifically designed interventions.

Since the outbreak of COVID-19, hundreds of scientific articles have been published and huge research work is ongoing. In the report, prepared on the basis of an expert assessment by IATA medical consultants and the group of medical directors of 10 largest airlines, as well as the reports of 70 airlines (representing half of the world passenger flow), there were no reported cases of COVID-19 transfer from passenger to the passenger.

According to the experts, the reasons for the low probability of transmission of the virus in flight are directional features and airflow characteristics in the aircraft that impede the direct spread of the virus infection. Aircraft is an aluminum tube that is pressurized. Air enters from the atmosphere into the upper compartment of the cabin. Fresh air circulating inside, and all the used, which is no longer needed, goes down into the lower part, through the ventilation holes in the floor, it enters the tail of the aircraft and from there to the outside. The focal points for Kazakhstan will examine these issues with others from around the globe to ensure that the issue of disease transmission is addressed.

Peter Griffiths, General Director of the Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan says

«When working on global issues; participation in bodies set up to provide a forum for discussing these measures is essential. Kazakhstan by joining this body will not only be able to participate, and lend its voice to, in the global measures, but also will benefit in ensuring that its contribution keeps the transmission risk to; as low as is reasonably practicable».

CAPSCA is a project created by ICAO in 2006 following the SARS crisis, with a mandate to manage public health activities in civil aviation.