
The Government has approved the National Air Transportation Facilitation Program.
The document is aimed at facilitating and accelerating international air transportation and eliminating unreasonable delays of aircraft, crews, passengers and cargo. The program has been brought into line with international and European standards and practices in the field of civil aviation. The document also fully transposes the provisions of the European Parliament regulation on the rights of persons with disabilities and persons with reduced mobility during air travel. The program is supplemented by a number of provisions stipulated by the amendments to the Convention on International Civil Aviation (the so-called Chicago Convention). Thus, it is planned to create an advance passenger information system (APIS) - the electronic system will collect certain data about passengers, they will be transferred to the Border Police before takeoff / landing, as well as to the checkpoint at the airport. This is necessary to improve border security, prevent terrorism and serious crimes. The new provisions also relate to the provision of assistance to victims of air crashes and their families, the transportation of minors by air, and the fight against human trafficking. The program stipulates the right of people with disabilities to fly, as well as the guarantee of providing them with free assistance from the airport parking and the entry point to the passenger terminal to the board of the aircraft and back. At the same time, the draft assumes a number of changes related to the competences of the authorities responsible for the implementation of the program. // 10.03.2022 - InfoMarket.