MINISTRY OF ECONOMY
AND SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
OF GEORGIA

This is the first time when Georgia has shown 87.5% compliance with the ICAO (International Civil Aviation Organization) standards. This is the highest rate in the region – this news was announced at the meeting of the First Vice Prime Minister of Georgia, the Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, Dimitry Kumsishvili with the International Delegation of the Civil Aviation held on March 20 in Tbilisi. The ICAO Coordinated Validity Mission, which was to conduct a relevant audit in Georgia, is being hosted by the Civil Aviation Agency of the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia and the Bureau of Transport Accidents and Incidents in Civil Aviation and Maritime Transport Departments.

The meeting was mainly oriented on the great progress that Georgia’s aviation system has been recently enjoying in comparison with the audit results carried out in 2013. In parallel with the Open Sky policy, the Civil Aviation Agency significantly tightened the flight safety requirements for air carriers, which led to the arousal of interest of leading airline companies in the local market. It was noted that the liberal policy pursued in civil aviation positively reflected the economic development of the country - new airlines, including low budgets, entered the Georgian air market. As a result, competition has increased, which positively affected the flow of passengers.

As it was highlighted at the meeting, the Civil Aviation Agency of the Ministry of Economy has shown improvement in all checked components. In particular, the preliminary results of the ICAO Validation Audit are as follows:

• The rate of supervision of the Agency of effective implementation of Air Navigation Services (ANS) comprises 96.49%. The world average rate is 62.47% in this component;
• The rate of supervision of the Agency of Aerodromes and Ground Aids comprises (AGA) 92.36%. The world average is 58.53% in this direction;
• Effective implementation of ICAO standards and recommended practices in part of Aviation Legislation (LEG) comprised 95.24%. The world average is 71.46% in this direction;
• Organizational Part (ORG), which studies the organizational-structural, financial and human capacity of the aviation authorities, has increased to 91.57%. The world average is 67.75% in this component.

Alongside the Civil Aviation Agency, the Bureau of Transport Accidents and Incidents also demonstrated the impressive achievements - the effective implementation indicator of the Bureau was 90.1% while the world average is 55.54%.

In the framework of the audit conducted by the ICAO, the following areas were examined: Supervision of Air Navigation Services (ANS) by the Agency, Supervision of Aerodromes and Ground Aids (AGA), Aviation Legislation (LEG), Civil Aviation Organizational Structure (ORG) and Aircraft Accident and Incident Investigation (AIG).

Based on the results obtained, for the first time in the country’s aviation history, Georgia's overall index will be improved from 64.76% to 87.5% according to the ICAO Global Security Plan. As a result, according to preliminary data, Georgia’s ranking among the ICAO member states will be promoted to the 30th position from 106th one.

The Civil Aviation Agency of the Ministry of Economy will receive the official conclusion of the Validation Audit within 90 days.
 

Additional Information:

Georgia became ICAO member in 1994. In 2007, according to the comprehensive audit of the ICAO Aviation System, Georgia failed to comply with 68% of international aviation standards. The audit concluded that the aviation authorities of the country failed to carry out the tasks delegated to them, including the adequate supervision over the safety of the major airlines. In 2010, the decision was made to implement the reform, the first phase of which was completed on April 15, 2011 by the Civil Aviation Agency. The reform of the Civil Aviation Agency has given the opportunity to re-establish effective control over the safety of flights, form the world's aviation practice appropriate organizational structure, as well as to hire the qualified personnel for supervisory activities, and maintain their own financial resources in order to provide the specialists with competitive salary packages, training courses and enhanced opportunities.

A comprehensive audit of 2013 showed that Georgia had 24% better performance compared with the 2007 audit of the International Civil Aviation Organization. In 2015, nearly 30% of the aviation safety supervision indicators improved. In 2016, supervision of aircraft operators improved to 82.73% (World average rate - 66.6%), while the quality of airborne surveillance (AIR) increased to 82.11% (World average rate - 74.57%). In the course of the 2016 audit, Georgia first exceeded 60% of the ICAO aviation safety plan and comprised 64.76%.