Uzbekistan is planning to create a separate regulatory system for small and amateur aviation and use it to develop adventure tourism. The measures are set out in a draft presidential decree drafted by the Tourism Committee together with relevant government agencies.
The draft proposes designating the Civil Aviation Agency, under the Ministry of Transport, as the state regulator for this sector. It would be given additional powers, including registering and certifying aircraft, regulating their maintenance, training specialists, and overseeing flight safety.
Separate aviation rules are planned for small aircraft. They would apply to aircraft with a maximum takeoff weight of up to 5,700 kg, and to helicopters up to 2,250 kg, certified in line with International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) requirements.
The Ministry of Transport is expected to draw up, within three months, a simplified procedure for registering, certifying and conducting technical inspections of small aircraft.
In addition, a bill on mandatory third-party civil liability insurance is to be drafted within six months. The draft proposes drawing on the principles of the ICAO's Rome Convention.
The project's roadmap also envisions changes to airspace-use rules, introducing U-space, G-space and W-space categories.
It further proposes exempting aircraft weighing up to 115 kg from mandatory registration, in line with international ICAO practice.
A separate "amateur aviation" category is planned for light aircraft.
The plan also calls for creating a single integrated electronic platform called "Small Aviation," along with a Cadet Program to build up a pool of future pilots.
Another strand of the project involves restoring decommissioned runways and airfields in the provinces.
Once refurbished, these sites would be used to develop adventure tourism and leased out to entrepreneurs and the initiators of related projects.
Non-profit organizations and business entities could also be offered buildings and facilities to lease for running training courses in adventure tourism.
Officials expect that developing small aviation will broaden the range of tourism services on offer, create new tourism products, and build up infrastructure for amateur and recreational flights.
The draft has not yet been adopted and is currently at the public consultation stage.
Uzbekistan currently has 18 airports. In recent years, airports have been built or restored in Muynak, Kokand, Zaamin, Shakhrisabz, Saryasiya and Sokh. The small-aviation development plan does not specify which decommissioned airfields and runways would be restored and handed over to business.
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