New head of Kazakhstan Aviation Administration to be appointed within a month
Veteran of the Federal Aviation Administration tipped to lead the AAK
The leadership position at the Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan (AAK), which has remained vacant for over a year, is expected to be filled within the coming month. Several industry sources speaking on condition of anonymity confirmed this development to CentralAsia+Aero.
It is widely anticipated that the agency will be led by an expert possessing extensive experience with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). This strategic appointment is driven by Kazakhstan’s ongoing efforts to launch direct flight services to the United States—an objective that has taken on significant political priority for the republic.
The previous Director General of the AAK, Romanian national Catalin Radu, held the position from March 2022 to March 2025. Currently, Mr. Radu serves as an aviation safety consultant across Central Asia. He is notably active in supporting Kyrgyzstan’s efforts to remove its domestic carriers from the European Commission’s “blacklist,” aiming to lift existing operational restrictions.
Established in the summer of 2019, the Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan is responsible for the technical oversight of flight safety and aviation security within the country, operating under a framework modeled after European civil aviation regulatory standards.
CentralAsia+ Aero earlier reported: Kazakhstan’s LCC FlyArystan taps Wizz Air veteran as new president.
