Kyrgyzstan expects to soon leave EU flight safety blacklist

BISHKEK. March 5 (Interfax) - The process of removing Kyrgyzstan from the European Union's blacklist on aviation safety is at its final stage, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov said.

Japarov received the president of Airbus Europe, Johan Pelissier, and the senior vice president of BBAM Leasing, Maurice Prendergast, with whom he discussed expanding the aircraft fleet with new airliners and strengthening partnerships in the civil aviation sector, the Kyrgyz presidential press service said on Thursday.

Japarov requested that the company executives assist with removing the country from the EU's blacklist.

According to the Kyrgyz government's press service, the results of inspections conducted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) in 2023-2024 confirmed the compliance of Kyrgyzstan's aviation system with international standards. Following the last inspection, the flight safety indicator was 85.76%. These achievements create real preconditions for removing the country from the European list of countries with a low safety level.

The latest audit is scheduled for this month.

Kyrgyzstan attaches great importance to expanding cooperation with Airbus Europe, including in the context of flight safety, Japarov said.

The modernization of airport infrastructure is underway in the country, and regional routes are being expanded, he said. If previously four airports were fully functioning in the country, now all 11 are operating, and the construction of Jalal-Abad International Airport is ongoing.

Kyrgyz airlines have been on the European Union's blacklist since 2006. The main reasons for inclusion in the above-mentioned lists were the weak capabilities of the country's state bodies to carry out supervisory functions in the industry, imperfect aviation legislation, weak training of inspector staff and an insufficient number of inspector staff compared to the number of aircraft and airlines.