Bek Air (BEK, Almaty International) has dropped a lawsuit against the Kazakh Civil Aviation Committee (KzCAC) after the two sides reached a comprise on the KzCAC's requirement for compulsory IOSA (IATA Operational Safety Audit) certification.
The KzCAC had originally mandated a January 1 deadline for all locally-owned and registered airlines to attain the certificate or risk a suspension of their operations. Of the airlines affected, Bek Air subsequently filed a court application asking for the measure to be deemed illegal. The KzCAC subsequently relented in the threat to ground the carriers but did not relent in its drive to ensure compliance.
However, according to Kazakh newswires, the sides have now agreed that while the IOSA certificate will no longer be mandatory, IOSA-standard regulations will be incorporated into the country's civil aviation regulations.
Of Kazakhstan's known commercial operators, SCAT Airlines (DV, Shymkent) and Air Astana (KC, Astana Nursultan Nazarbayev) have already secured their IOSA certificates while Bek Air, Qazaq Air (IQ, Astana Nursultan Nazarbayev), ZhezAir (KZH, Zhezkazgan), Zhetysu (JTU, Taldy Kurgan), and Southern Sky Airlines (IH, Shymkent) have not.
