Georgian Parliament began reviewing a draft law on amendments to the Air Code of Georgia, which will regulate paragliding, in an accelerated manner. New rules will go into effect from August 31.
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Mariam Kvrivishvili, Deputy Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development, presented the draft law today at the meeting of the Budget and Finance Committee.
“Paragliding will be allowed only in the airspace designated by the law, which will be determined based on the safety assessment carried out by the Aviation Agency and Air Navigation.
A paraglider pilot, whether commercial, training, or amateur, requires a relevant pilot’s license, which any interested person can obtain by passing a theory and practical test.
Commercial paragliding is permitted only within certified airspace, which will fall under the custody of an authorized legal person, a so-called operator. Flight is permitted only using a paraglider that has an airworthiness certificate. Paraglider pilot is required to have a valid insurance policy, stated Kvrivishvili.
According to the draft law, regulation of paragliding, certification of a site and its operator, issuance, suspension, and cancellation of a license and assignment of category, and assessment of the fitness of a paraglider will be carried out by a state-assigned legal person, who must meet the following criteria: has at least 10 years of experience in the field of paragliding, including cooperation with international organizations working within the field and has the necessary technical equipment for evaluating paraglider airworthiness and appropriate software to maintain records.
The said legal person will be supervised by the Civil Aviation Agency, which will be authorized to restrict or suspend duty in case of violations, after which paragliding will no longer be allowed.
According to the draft law, the authorized person of the Ministry of Internal Affairs will be authorized to:
- Prevent the operation of a certified paragliding site by an operator without a certificate or with a suspended certificate.
- Prevent flights without a relevant license or with a suspended license, as well as any commercial flight outside of a certified paragliding site.
- Prevent non-commercial, including training flight, if it is carried out in violation of the requirements established by the legislation, as well as any flight outside the specially designated airspace.
Violating flight rules is subject to the following sanctions:
- Flying without a license or with an expired/suspended license – 1500 GEL fine, with or without confiscation of a paraglider. A repeated offense within a year will result in a fine of 3000 GEL with confiscation of a paraglider or administrative imprisonment for up to 15 days with confiscation of a paraglider.
- Commercial paragliding beyond certified airspace – 2000 GEL fine, with or without confiscation of a paraglider. A repeated offense within a year will result in a fine of 2000 GEL with confiscation of a paraglider or administrative imprisonment for up to 15 days with confiscation of a paraglider.
- Operating non-commercial, including training flights in violation of the safety rules established by the law – 1500 GEL fine, with or without confiscation of a paraglider. A repeated offense within a year will result in a fine of 2000 GEL with confiscation of a paraglider or administrative imprisonment for up to 15 days with confiscation of a paraglider.
- Conducting experimental and/or demonstration flights in violation of the rules established by law – 1500 GEL fine, with or without confiscation of a paraglider. A repeated offense within a year will result in a fine of 2000 GEL with confiscation of a paraglider or administrative imprisonment for up to 15 days with confiscation of a paraglider.
- Operating flights without an operator certificate or with a suspended/revoked certificate – 1500 GEL fine. A repeated offense within a year will result in a fine of 3000 GEL. Every next repeated offense within a year is subject to a 6000 GEL fine.
Certifying a paragliding site will cost 3000 GEL, and paraglider inspection fees are as follows:
- Single-seat paraglider inspection – 50 GE
- Two-seat paraglider inspection – 100 GEL
- Inspection of a single-seat paraglider seat-towing system – 50 GEL
- Inspection of a two-seat paraglider seat-towing system – 100 GEL
- Inspection of a single-seat paraglider reserve parachute – 100 GEL
- Inspection of a two-seat paraglider reserve parachute – 120 GEL
- Verifying the working order of a reserve chute of a single-seat paraglider – 50 GEL
- Verifying the working order of a reserve chute of a two-seat paraglider – 75 GEL
- Paramotor inspection – 200 GEL
- Paramotor functionality verification – 50 GEL
The cost of certification of an operator of a paragliding site was designated at 1500 GEL. The admission fee for the theory exam will be 80 GEL and for the practical exam – 180 GEL. An applicant will pay the manufacturing cost of the license or the cost of restoring a lost license of 50 GEL, and granting of a category will cost 350 GEL (per category).
The author of the bill is the Ministry of Economy and Sustainable Development of Georgia. As stated by Deputy Minister Mariam Kvrivishvili, it was developed based on the requirements of the International Paragliding Federation and taking into account the best practices of European countries.
