There was a meeting of the subcommittee on civil aviation of the Logistics and Transportation Committee of the Presidium of the Atameken NCE RK.

The meeting was chaired by Deputy Chairman of the Sub-Committee on Civil Aviation of the Logistics and Transportation Committee of the Presidium of the Atameken NCE RK Daulet Khamzin and Chairman of the Tourism Committee of the Presidium of the Atameken NCE RK Pavel Kazantsev, with the participation of representatives of the Civil Aviation Committee of the MIID RK, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of RK, the Ministry of Culture and Sports, representatives of airports and airlines.

"We need to discuss the pros and cons, define the boundaries and corridors of development. We need to have synergy, both in terms of the national documents and EAEU policy. It is also necessary to understand where Kazakhstan should go strategically,"  Pavel Kazantsev, Chairman of the Tourism Committee of the Presidium of Atameken, said.

The business community was divided into several positions. Airports believe that the government agency restricts international carriers and does not fully comply with the principle of open sky, which will have a positive impact on passenger traffic and reduce the cost of air tickets. Carriers do not see any restrictions, as well as the desire of international companies to enter Kazakhstan.

The "open sky" does not mean that you can fly without restrictions. It is an agreement between the parties with their positions and obligations. Five years ago, we switched to a policy of gradual liberalization of airspace. And we understand that none of the foreign carriers will develop transit through us, foreigners are interested in the development of their lines. Also today, within the framework of the EAEU, this policy is being applied, where there will be transparent competition. Now we are harmonizing the standards so that there is no infringement of the parties," the Chairman of the Civil Aviation Committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Talgat Lastayev said.

In turn, the representative of the airport of Almaty noted the trend of reducing freight and passenger traffic.

"We see the dynamics of both freight and passenger traffic decrease. Assigning the open sky to the Almaty airport will have a greater effect due to the density of population and business activity in the region. Tourism, in general, is a priority industry in Almaty. This is a more interesting point than Nur-Sultan. But by default, the routes through Astana are being developed. Meanwhile, we risk losing such carriers, given the status of "Open Skies" to airports in Bishkek, Tashkent, and Baku," the Almaty International Airport Aviation Marketing Director Abdul Kusayev said.

Sarsenbek Kushkinov, Chairman of the Management Board of Sary-Arka Airport, added that since 2011, Karaganda airport has been raising issues of concluding Open Sky agreement, but still loses passengers due to its proximity to Nur-Sultan airport.

"At one time, we were betting on cargo transportation and our airport was a good competitor for Almaty. There are cargoes and we have found our niche and are developing it. We are ready for an "open sky" for freight traffic. For 3 years we have been talking about the creation of a national freight carrier. We can develop hubs in Aktau, but the cargoes are settling in Tbilisi and Baku, if we have an open sky, it would revitalize the market," Sarsenbek Kushkinov said.

In turn, Talgat Lastayev noted that the aviation authorities of Kazakhstan are open and ready to consider any proposals from carriers.

"Every time we ask to bring companies that have a strong foundation and a strong commitment to work in Kazakhstan, except for companies that have a dumping policy and are subsidized by the Government of their country. Moreover, we are negotiating ourselves, but the carriers argue that airports do not have flexible conditions. It does not matter if 1 or 10 flights are planned, the foreign carrier has no discounts at the airports. Fuel and service are expensive,"  Talgat Lastayev said.

Acting director of the Department for Foreign Economic Policy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Denis Rogov added that foreign airlines leave complaints about the high cost of jet fuel at airports in Kazakhstan. By the way, the amount exceeds the cost in Asia and Russia by 40%. The domestic air carrier also supported the specialists of ministries. Thus, the manager of legal relations with government agencies of Air Astana Yevgeniy Aksnov stressed that with the introduction of open sky at Nur-Sultan airport there are no more wishing to carry out flights to Kazakhstan.

"The problem is not in the closed policy, but in small carrying capacities of Kazakhstan. Absence of passenger traffic and aviation fuel at competitive prices, pricing of airports, issues that were raised by foreign and domestic companies as early as 1.5 years ago," Yevgeniy Aksenov said.

As a solution to the problem, Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Atameken NCE RK Olzhas Ordabaev proposed to develop together with airports Roadmaps for each interested carrier.

Deputy Chairman of the Board of the Atameken NCE RK Yevgeniy Bolgert, in turn, suggested airports to consolidate their opinion and unite into the Association of Airports of Kazakhstan.

"In the world practice, for the development of transit passenger traffic, the aviation authorities use the status of open sky, which influences the increase of tourist traffic and transit potential, contributes to the expansion of the route network and attraction of foreign air carriers, development of infrastructure at airports and improvement of the quality of service. Besides, it stimulates the competitive environment of the aviation market. Therefore, the open sky is also a challenge for the Kazakh aviation in terms of improving service, and it is important to consolidate the problems that the industry has through the association, " Yevgeniy Bolgert said.

Also, Tolkyn Takishova, Director of the Economy Department of the new Silk Road of the Astana International Financial Center, noted the development of the Roadmap with specific recommendations for the opening of certain flights.

Daulet Khamzin supported the need to establish the Association of airports, and also noted the difficulties in obtaining a visa to Kazakhstan and the lack of attention in the development of regional airports, which are disadvantaged in intergovernmental agreements and visa policy, given that 72-hour visa-free regime is provided only for airports in Nur - Sultan and Almaty.

"I think the issue of establishing the Association of Airports of Kazakhstan is urgent at the moment, and I think there is a need to consolidate. I propose to analyze and make proposals on the establishment and structure of the Association of Airports, as well as to create a working group on the development of Roadmaps for interested foreign airlines wishing to operate flights to Kazakhstan, taking into account the identification of constraints," Daulet Khamzin said.