From November 13 to 17, 2023, the twenty-ninth meeting of the Dangerous Goods Panel (hereinafter – DGP) is taking place at the Headquarters of the International Civil Aviation Organization ICAO in Montreal, which is attended by aviation inspectors of the Dangerous Goods Division of the Department of Facilitation, Passenger and Cargo Services of Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan JSC, the head of division Daniyar Kanlybayev and senior aviation inspector Timur Orimbekov.

The 29th meeting of the DGP is based on the desire to implement the recommendations of the expert group on improving the system of safe transportation of dangerous goods. It should be noted that the recommendations and decisions of the group, prepared in cooperation with international experts and other organizations involved in the transportation of dangerous goods, are updated on an ongoing basis and are provided to States in order to reflect the dynamics of the situation, knowledge and emerging problems, taking into account developing technologies and the emergence of new dangerous items and substances.

Considering that the last amendment to ICAO Annex 18 (The Safe Transportation of Dangerous goods by Air) was introduced in 2017, a significant number of international technical experts took part in this DGP meeting.  During the sessions, updated ICAO information was provided on risk and threats factors mitigation in the transport of dangerous goods by air.

During the work of the DGP, the following issues were considered - harmonization of ICAO regulations on dangerous goods with UN Recommendations, risk management for the safe transportation of dangerous goods, including lithium batteries by air, detailing the state's responsibilities for oversight and supervision, harmonization of DGP working materials in order to assist in the preparation of technical instructions and accompanying documents with revised regulations on dangerous goods.

Within the framework of the DGP, the Kazakh delegation held a meeting with representatives of the ICAO office in Montreal, responsible for the direction of work with dangerous goods in the person of Dr. C. Rooney – Head of the ICAO Dangerous Goods Department and Lynn McGuigan – Secretary of the DGP.

The participation of Kazakhstani specialists in the work of DGP provides an opportunity to share experience in solving common problems related to the transportation of dangerous goods facing the industry, as well as to strengthen cooperation and establish contacts with international experts.

It should be noted that at present, the Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan together with the Civil Aviation Committee of the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Kazakhstan are considering the creation of a working group on the transportation of dangerous goods, which will include representatives of domestic airports, airlines and shippers, as well as the postal operator.