From 30 September to 7 October 2026, a mission of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) worked in Kyrgyzstan. It found no critical issues, the State Civil Aviation Agency (SCAA) under the Cabinet of Ministers reported.
This was an ICAO Coordinated Validation Mission (ICVM). Experts assessed how effectively the state oversees flight safety and how measures to correct previously identified deficiencies have been implemented. According to the SCAA, the results confirmed the positive development of the national flight safety system.
An ICVM is not an audit
Some outlets call the mission an audit, but ICAO itself defines an ICVM as a follow-up on-site review that confirms how a state is resolving deficiencies found in a previous audit, including significant safety concerns. The accurate wording is: Kyrgyzstan completed an ICAO validation mission that confirmed the resolution of earlier findings.
Why ICAO reviews states
The Universal Safety Oversight Audit Programme (USOAP) grew out of an ICAO Assembly resolution of 1992. In 1998 another resolution made audits regular and mandatory for all states, and the programme began in January 1999. In 2005 it was extended to all safety-related annexes of the Chicago Convention, and since 2013 a continuous monitoring approach (CMA) has complemented audits with ongoing collection of safety data.
ICAO assesses not airlines and airports, but a state's ability to oversee them. The review covers eight areas: aviation legislation, the structure of aviation authorities, personnel licensing, operations, airworthiness, accident investigation, air navigation and aerodromes. The result is expressed as an effective implementation (EI) score in percent. The global average EI in 2025 was 68.80%, and only 46% of states reached the 75% target, according to ICAO's 2026 Safety Report.
Kyrgyzstan's path
2006: Kyrgyz airlines placed on the EU air safety list. 2016: ICAO audit (25 January to 5 February). 2019: after an ICVM, a significant safety concern was resolved (7 June), with an EI of 72.41%, the Eurasian Economic Commission reported. 2023: ICAO audit under USOAP CMA. August 2024: ICAO audit (19–28 August). March 2026: EU assessment visit. 9 June 2026: European Commission removed Kyrgyz airlines from the list (48th update of the list). 30 September to 7 October 2026: ICVM with no critical findings.
What this opens up
The European Commission decides whom to list based on international standards, primarily those set by ICAO, so good ICAO review results underpin removal from the list. ICAO's detailed findings on each review are available to all member states, so a review without critical findings means foreign regulators have no new grounds for restrictions.
But removal from the list does not open flights automatically. Manasbek Samidinov, head of Kyrgyzstan Airports, expects to attract European carriers before the end of 2026. Kyrgyz airlines cannot yet fly to Europe because they lack suitable aircraft: two Airbus A321s have been bought for Asman Airlines and will arrive in May 2027. Private airlines are being encouraged to grow fleets through financial institutions and leasing companies. Each airline still needs authorisation to operate under EU rules and suitable aircraft.
Why the EI score matters for strategy
ICAO explicitly links audits to investment: the programme aims to help states prioritise aviation investment and get the most from it. The current edition of the Global Aviation Safety Plan (GASP) for 2026–2028 sets a target for at least 70% of states to give their oversight bodies adequate financial resources by 2028. The EI score thus serves as input for budgets, staffing and legislation.
In Kyrgyzstan this link is visible in the SCAA's draft roadmap for the national aviation security programme. By 2027, 65% of civil aviation organisations are to reach an EI of 75% or higher, by 2030 80%, and by 2033 100%.
What ICAO leaders say
Assad Kotaite, President of the ICAO Council from 1976 to 2006, under whom the audit programme itself was created, called transparency and sharing of safety information fundamental principles of a safe air transport system. At the Directors General of Civil Aviation conference in Montreal in March 2006 he secured agreement that audit results would be ready for publication by 23 March 2008. From then on ICAO review results became public, and regulators, including the EU, rely on them.
Salvatore Sciacchitano, President of the ICAO Council from 2020 to 2025, described USOAP as a tool that helps states identify gaps in oversight and prioritise improvements to regulatory functions. Of Kazakhstan, he said that audit results put the country above the global average; Kyrgyzstan can now be compared against that benchmark.
ICAO Secretary General Juan Carlos Salazar said in August 2024 that the organisation is improving its audit programmes, updating global standards and providing targeted assistance to member states. For Kyrgyzstan this means the result achieved will have to be confirmed again and again.
Our assessment: the positive outcome of the mission consolidates the result of leaving the EU list, but fleet becomes the next constraint. For lessors and financial institutions this is a signal: Kyrgyz private airlines need them in order to fly to Europe. This is flycentralasia's conclusion, not a statement by the SCAA or ICAO.