Kazakhstan, Astana, April 1 / Trend D. Mukhtarov /
Depreciation of the aircraft fleet in Kazakhstan stands at more than 80 per cent, MP Seytsultan Aimbetov said on Monday during a government hour in the Majilis (lower chamber of the Kazakh Parliament) entitled 'Development of Transport Infrastructure'.
"To date, 497 civilian aircraft are registered by the public register of the country. According to experts, the depreciation of the fleet stands at more than 80 per cent and their service life exceeds 20 years, while the specified service life of the plane is no more than 30 years," Aimbetov said .
According to him, the outdated fleet of aircraft does not meet the standards of ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organisation) and is a great disadvantage to domestic civil aviation.
"Unfortunately, the pursuit of liberalisation has led to the weakening and loss of control over the industry," Aimbetov said.
In addition he said, issues of aviation staff shortages, especially pilots, lack of fuel and repair facilities, weak airport infrastructure and low levels of air services remain unresolved. All this according to Aimbetov, affects the underutilisation of the capacity of air transport in the country and the path of international routes.
"The high cost of tickets, inadequate competition, poor service, regular flight delays and presence of domestic airlines on the 'black list' remain pressing issues as well," Aimbetov said.
MP noted the implementation of basic types of certification - certification of aviation personnel, airworthiness, maintenance and repair of aircraft, as well as inspections including foreign aircraft, was assigned to the Centre for Safety of Flights Republican State Enterprise.
"We consider it necessary to take into account the requirement of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO) on the introduction of state aviation inspectors to monitor security and safety of flights as an important aspect in the field of civil aviation," Aimbetov said.
According to him, MPs insisted on tighter controls over the technical condition of the aircraft fleet to ensure the safety of air travel.