Atameken actively discussed issue of Open Skies initiative
President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev called for an increase in the number of international flights at a meeting on the development of the capital, Tengrinews.kz reports.
"An important issue is the increase in the number of international flights. At the moment there are less than 30 international direct flights from Nur-Sultan. It is not enough for the capital that reasonably positions itself as an international center. To become such a center, it is important to connect the capital by direct flights with the world's leading cities and international financial centers," the Head of State said.
"It is needed to open the sky, this is my assignment to the Government. There is nothing to be afraid of. Don't indulge one of the companies, even if it is the most famous, and the most "favorite" one. We need to open the sky," Tokayev emphasized.
Earlier, the President was outraged by the cost of air tickets for popular routes in Kazakhstan.
It should be noted that since 2017 the initiative to introduce the Open Skies regime has been actively discussed by the Atameken NCE RK at various platforms to improve the transport accessibility of tourist facilities and increase the number of inbound tourists to the country.
As you know, today Kazakhstan operates in the international market exclusively under the Chicago Convention, using bilateral agreements. The implementation of such agreements has led to the monopolization of international routes by one or two companies, a high level of tariffs, limited flexibility of routes, and reduced competitiveness of airlines due to the lack of competition.
As a result, Kazakhstan ranks 113th (among 140 countries) in the ‘International Transparency ‘ indicator in 2019 WEF’s Competitiveness of Tourism and Travel rating.
On 26 July 2019, the Committee on Tourism and the Subcommittee on Civil Aviation of the Committee on Logistics and Transportation of the Presidium of the Atameken NCE RK discussed the possibilities of implementing the Open Skies regime during the joint meeting at the platform of the Atameken NCE RK7 Then they sent recommendations to government agencies.
Also, this measure is included in the State Program for the development of the tourism industry of the Republic of Kazakhstan for 2019-2025 to ensure the transport accessibility of tourist destinations and facilities.
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