Kazakh airlines will not be included in the European black list

Created on 02.06.2022 10:57

On June 1, 2022, the EASA published an official decision regarding the Aviation Authorities of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The Head of the MIID of the Republic of Kazakhstan Kairbek Uskenbayev noted that European Aviation Authorities have agreed not to limit the Kazakh airlines from flying to Europe and not to include Kazakhstan in the black list.

Kazakhstan was already blacklisted in 2009 when the ICAO during an audit revealed the lowest implementation rate at the level of 47%. Thus, the European Commission banned flights of all the Kazakh airlines to European countries, except for Air Astana, which was limited in the range of its destinations.

According to K.Uskenbaev, the key decision was a substantial reform, whereby Kazakhstan adopted the European approach. Thus, the Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan was established in 2019 supported by the UK Aviation Administration (UKCAA). This similar governance model is used in developed countries and is recognized by ICAO and EASA.

“The impact of the reform was proved in August last year following an independent audit by ICAO's auditors, whereby Kazakhstan increased the level of flight safety by 84%. At the same time, the European Commission again expressed concern about the safety situation in 2019 when the Bek Air's aircraft crashed near the airport. We have developed the Corrective Action Draft, which was submitted to the European Commission. Our Ministry jointly with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Belgium argued that our flight safety at the highest level. The EASA adopted the corrective actions, thus we avoided the blacklist. In addition, Kazakhstan will remain attractive to foreign airlines, and domestic air carriers might expand their route network”, - the Head of the MIID RK stated.

2177 views