Specialists of the Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan represented by the Director of the Department of Facilitation, Passenger and Cargo Services Malayev Nurzhan and Aviation Inspector Abildinova Arailym took part in the Thirteenth Meeting of the Facilitation Expert Group (FALP), held at the headquarters of the International Civil Aviation Organization ICAO in Montreal, Canada.

The 13th FALP meeting was held within the framework of the Year of Facilitation, declared by the ICAO Council in honor of the 75th anniversary of Annex 9 of the Facilitation Annex. The FALP meeting considered 34 working papers submitted by member countries as well as international organizations represented by ICAO, IATA, ACI and others. The working papers were related to updates of Annex 9 standards and recommended practices. Particular attention was paid to the work of the National Committees on Air Transport Facilitation, machine-readable travel documents, accessibility of air transport for persons with disabilities and persons with reduced mobility, as well as the Advance Passenger Information System (API) and the Passenger Registration Records (PNR) data processing system.

Facilitation of international air transport refers to the clearance of aircraft, passengers and goods through procedures required at international borders. Effective management of air transport facilitation improves the quality and cost-effectiveness of aviation services and contributes to the development of civil aviation, which is a key factor in global sustainable development.

In recent years, the work in ICAO on the facilitation of international air transportation has advanced significantly, demonstrating its notable continuing value. Meanwhile, the challenges for aviation caused by both the COVID-19 pandemic and border closures have highlighted the importance of proactive action by multiple parties to ensure the sustainability of systems, processes and technologies.

It should be noted that today in Kazakhstan the Interdepartmental Commission of the Republic of Kazakhstan on Facilitation of Formalities in International Air Transportation (Commission), which is a set of measures designed to facilitate the establishment of procedures to simplify formalities in civil aviation of the Republic of Kazakhstan, is operating actively. The Commission is comprised of stakeholders from the following government agencies: Border Service of the National Security Committee of the RK, State revenue committee Ministry of finance of the RK, Committee of migration service of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the RK, Committee of Sanitary and Epidemiological Control of the Ministry of Healthcare of the RK, as well as representatives of 5 airports and domestic airlines.

Currently, the Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan is negotiating with ICAO to include employees of the Department of Facilitation, Passenger and Cargo Services in the ICBWG (Implementation and Capacity Building Working Group) and NTWG (New Technologies Working Group).