LITHUANIAN AVIATION GUIDELINES UNTIL 2030 WHAT DOES TKA PLAN TO IMPLEMENT?

Minister of Transport Marius Skuodis presented the Lithuanian aviation guidelines until 2030. These include increasing air transport connections and developing environmentally friendly aviation.

In the list of objectives for the Transport Competence Agency (TKA):

• FAA recognition that the maintenance of TKA Lithuanian carriers is carried out in accordance with ICAO standards. The assignment of Lithuania to category 1 according to the IASA (International Aviation Safety Assessment) program would open up the US market for Lithuanian carriers. Achieving this goal requires proper preparation and “passing” the FAA audit;
• integrating drones into general air traffic by defining U-space airspaces;
• strengthening of memorandums on ISAGO and/or IOSA programs for capacity building of national supervisory authorities.

Since the beginning of 2019, TKA is one of the institutions performing the state management of Lithuanian civil aviation, which includes licensing of aviation specialists, certification of airfields and aviation organizations, and supervisory functions of aviation entities. in 2019 after completing the CAA (Civil Aviation Administration) reform, the aim was to implement the “user pays” principle and to focus TKA’s activities both on the effective performance of the supervisory authority’s functions and on the provision of high-quality, user-oriented aviation maintenance services. The state management of civil aviation is also carried out by the Lithuanian Transport Safety Administration (LTSA). However, to this day, there is a duplication of functions performed by TKA and LTSA, and there are also functions that are not assigned to either institution. The period of the COVID-19 pandemic made 2018 even more prominent.

Taking into account the above-mentioned and other shortcomings of the CAA reform listed in the Lithuanian aviation guidelines, one of the goals provided for in the guidelines is the review, structuring, refinement and implementation of the adopted decisions. The goal is to create a model of the civil aviation activity supervision system in Lithuania that meets EU and ICAO requirements and is able to respond promptly to business development and its needs. The deadline for the implementation of the aforementioned decisions is until the end of 2024.

It is proposed to implement the set goals using analogous models of the civil aviation maintenance system, similar to those applied in other countries. One such example: IATA’s experience in implementing the IOSA and ISAGO programs.

The aviation guidelines also provide for the fact that when assessing the state’s opportunities to contribute to the development of general (leisure) aviation activities, the Ministry of Communications and TKA should look for opportunities to continue the program of reducing the financial burden of state supervision functions (partial compensation of TKA fees) applied until now.

More about aviation guidelines until 2030: https://sumin.lrv.lt/lt/naujienos/m-skuodis-tarp-svarbiausiu-darbu-lietuvos-aviacijos-sritiye-oro-transporto-jungciu-didinimas-ir-aplinkai – friendly-aviation-pletra