BISHKEK (TCA) — There is no national plan for the civil aviation development in Kyrgyzstan, and the Civil Aviation Agency arbitrarily grants licenses and patronizes selected companies, Kyrgyz First Deputy Prime Minister Muhammadkaly Abulgaziev said.
Commenting on the withdrawal of Kyrgyz airlines from the EU blacklist, he said that investors are now ready to help Kyrgyzstan, but a national development plan is necessary. He also stressed the shortage of qualified specialists in aviation due to low wages. Kyrgyzstan’s airlines have been on the European Union blacklist since 2006.
According to the Civil Aviation Agency (CAA), in December 2016, in consultation with the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization), a detailed plan on the withdrawal of Kyrgyz airlines from the EU blacklist was adopted, and the work is currently in progress. Each month the CAA submits reports to the Kyrgyz Transport Ministry and the ICAO.
ICAO experts will soon come to Kyrgyzstan to check the readiness of the country’s civil aviation to be removed from the EU blacklist.
To bring the Air Code of Kyrgyzstan into conformity with the ICAO standards, 22 aviation rules of the Kyrgyz Republic regulating the activities of civil aviation have been developed and adopted.
Results
In January-March 2017, Kyrgyz airlines transported 598,343 passengers, 21.9% more than in the same period in 2016.
Over the past five years, the Manas International Airport (MIA) JSC has increased passenger traffic by 63%, the company said in its report for 2016. The passenger traffic of the company exceeded 3.8 million passengers in 2016, of which 2.7 million passengers used international air routes. The MIA includes 11 operating airports – five international and six regional.
According to the Kyrgyz CAA, 36 airlines are currently operating in Kyrgyzstan including 32 international and four domestic airlines.
Improvements
Earlier, the fleet of domestic airlines was small and old, but it is being updated now. Last year, two airlines bought three aircrafts and will soon buy one more.
An extended air terminal complex was opened at the Osh International Airport in the south of the country. Due to the modernization, the capacity of the new terminal has increased from 450 to 600 passengers per hour.
This year, it is planned to complete the reconstruction of the Batken airport in the south of the country, and to extend the runway of the Osh airport by 400 meters.
A new flight, Tamchy-Novosibirsk, will operate regularly during the tourist season to bring tourists from Siberia, Russia to Issyk-Kul Lake, the Transport Ministry said.
Open skies policy
The Kyrgyz Ministry of Transport and Roads proposes to declare an open skies policy from summer 2017 season until the end of winter 2019/2020 for 44 states using the rights of the first, second, third and fourth freedom of air, without any restrictions. The freedoms of the air are a set of commercial aviation rights granting a country’s airlines the privilege to enter and land in another country’s airspace, formulated in the Convention on International Civil Aviation. The list includes Australia, Austria, Belgium, the United Kingdom, Denmark, Egypt, Indonesia, Spain, Italy, France, USA, Canada, and many others.
The lack of air communication between Kyrgyzstan and Japan prevents the arrival of Japanese tourists in Kyrgyzstan, the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) in Bishkek said. Japanese tourists are interested in Kyrgyzstan but there are barriers that prevent an increase in the number of Japanese tourists in Kyrgyzstan including the lack of direct flights and information about the country in Japan.
State-owned airline subject to privatization
To develop the only state-owned airline, Air Kyrgyzstan OJSC, the Parliament intends to include it in the list of state facilities subject to privatization.
The Investments and Export Agency and Air Kyrgyzstan Board members suggested establishing a joint venture with China Southern Airlines. With its creation, the Chinese investor intends to update the aircraft fleet and expand the geography of flights. The Chinese side is interested in purchasing a 49% stake in Air Kyrgyzstan, the Kyrgyz Ministry of Transport and Roads said.
A good example is Kazakhstan’s Air Astana airline, in which the foreign investor owns 49% of the shares and the state transferred to it in trust management an additional 2% of shares.
China Southern Airlines is the largest airline in Asia. The company operates a fleet of 528 modern aircrafts with an average fleet age of 7.1 years.
According to Chinese investors, if the issue is resolved positively, Air Kyrgyzstan will receive up to six Western-made aircrafts for international and domestic flights within five years, as well as an aircraft for the transportation of Kyrgyzstan’s first persons.
In June 2016, the State Property Management Fund of Kyrgyzstan put up for sale a 49% stake in Air Kyrgyzstan but the auction failed due to a lack of applications from potential buyers. According to the terms of the investment competition, the buyer had to buy at least five aircraft at its own expense within five years and to invest at least $1 million to increase the company’s working capital and pay off debts on loans.
