Kyrgyzstan's State Civil Aviation Agency (GACA) has opened public consultation on an updated version of aviation rules APKR-4, which govern the preparation of aeronautical charts. The consultation runs through 25 September 2026.
The current rules date back to 2016 and do not account for three ICAO amendment packages — Nos. 61, 62, and 63 — to Annex 4 of the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation.
The key trigger for the update is ICAO Amendment 63: approved on 25 March 2026, it took effect on 3 August and becomes mandatory for international application from 26 November 2026. The amendment modernizes standards for area navigation (RNAV) and performance-based navigation (PBN). The updated APKR-4 specifies how elements of these navigation procedures must be depicted on route charts, standard instrument departure and arrival charts (SID/STAR), and approach charts.
GACA emphasized that the 2016 rules required not incremental fixes but full harmonization with ICAO's Doc 8168 manual and Kyrgyzstan's Air Code — including in terms of accurately depicting terrain, obstacles, and air traffic control sector boundaries. The stated goal of the update is to improve flight safety given the country's mountainous airspace.
Implementing the new rules will not require additional budget spending. The document will take effect seven days after being signed by the Cabinet of Ministers.
The APKR-4 update continues Kyrgyzstan's broader push to digitize and harmonize aviation regulation with international standards — earlier this month, GACA also signed a contract with Germany's EMPIC GmbH to implement a flight safety oversight management system.