Bill for regulations in the transport sector approved

According to the regulation, administrative fines to be applied in case of non-compliance with obligations and authorities in civil aviation will be increased.

Accordingly, in cases such as commercial air operators failing to obtain permits or operating licenses from the Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure, failing to notify changes in tariffs; failure to register Turkish civil aircraft; civil aviation personnel failing to obtain a certificate of competency; or the pilot failing to inform authorized authorities to ensure legal measures are taken regarding crimes committed on board, the fine, which was between 1,000 liras and 10,000 liras, is being increased to between 20,000 liras and 500,000 liras; for those who act contrary to procedures regarding the civil aircraft registry and the registration certificate to be issued, the fine, which was between 500 liras and 10,000 liras, is being increased to between 10,000 liras and 500,000 liras.

The fine for those who do not comply with the measures taken by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to regulate civil aviation, which was between 500 liras and 10,000 liras, is also being increased to between 10,000 liras and 500,000 liras.

The procedures and principles regarding the import, sale, licensing, registration, certification of airworthiness, qualifications required for persons who will use the systems, granting of flight permits, and air traffic services for civil Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) systems to be operated or used in Turkish Airspace will be determined by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation.

An administrative fine of between 5,000 liras and 100,000 liras will be imposed by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation on those found to be in violation of regulations regarding the import, sale, registration, licensing, ensuring airworthiness of UAV systems, and the qualifications required for persons who will use the systems.

The fine for responsible operators and managers of companies selling unmanned aerial vehicles who fail to register the information of the sold vehicles and the identity information of the buyers in the Directorate General of Civil Aviation system, and for those who do not register the vehicle they brought individually from abroad or acquired domestically in the system within 3 days at the latest, is being increased from 5,000 liras to 50,000 liras; the fine for those who make false declarations during registration or those who enter data is being increased from 10,000 liras to 100,000 liras.

An administrative fine of 60,000 liras will be imposed by the highest local administrative authority on persons who fly unmanned aerial vehicles without obtaining a flight permit and outside the areas determined by the Directorate General of Civil Aviation or local administrative authorities, and who are detected by general law enforcement forces.

With the regulation, no fee will be charged for permits granted for necessary facility areas for the air and land side within airport boundaries, as well as facilities such as health, hotel, motel, restaurant, religious facilities, shopping units to meet the essential needs of passengers, and fuel stations, logistics, cargo facilities, management and administrative buildings, temporary accommodation facilities, and terminal buildings within the scope of airport projects in areas under state forests.

AMENDMENT TO THE POSTAL SERVICES LAW

An amendment is also being made to the provision of the Turkish Commercial Code regarding the mandatory insurance obligation for passenger transport on ships. Accordingly, the limit of the mandatory insurance amount per passenger for each accident cannot be less than 250,000 special drawing rights if passengers are carried by a ship licensed to perform international voyages, and 100,000 special drawing rights if passengers are carried by a ship that does not have the necessary license for international voyages.

The bill also envisages an amendment to the Postal Services Law. Accordingly, the universal postal service provider or operators will notify the Ministry of the net cost of meeting the services within the scope of universal postal service on a monthly basis.

An advance payment may be made to the universal postal service provider or operator to cover expenses related to universal postal services. The procedures and principles regarding the advance payment will be determined by regulation.

In companies where more than half of the capital belongs to PTT, personnel subject to the Labor Law may be employed without being subject to the legislative provisions regarding the employment of personnel in public institutions and organizations. Regarding the recruitment and financial rights of the personnel to be employed in the companies; the boards of directors of the relevant companies will be authorized, provided that the title, education, experience, language proficiency, and expertise in the field are taken as a basis.

DISCIPLINARY PENALTIES

With the bill, disciplinary penalties and the situations to be applied were determined with an additional article added to the Postal Services Law.

Accordingly, personnel working under an administrative service contract at PTT will be subject to the Civil Servants Law No. 657 regarding disciplinary penalties and acts and situations requiring punishment.

The salary deduction penalty will be applied as a deduction between 1/30 and 1/8 of the gross contract salary. The penalty of withholding of advancement; will be applied as a deduction between 1/4 and half of the gross contract salary, and the penalty of dismissal from civil service will be applied by terminating the contract so as not to be employed in any position at PTT again.

In disciplinary proceedings against personnel working under an administrative service contract at PTT, the provisions in the section titled discipline of the Civil Servants Law will be applied in cases where there is no provision in the law.

With the bill, the superiors and boards authorized to impose disciplinary penalties are also determined with an additional article added to the Postal Services Law.

With the additional article added to the Postal Services Law, suspension from duty is defined as "a precautionary measure taken regarding personnel who are considered to be inconvenient to remain on duty," and the suspension measure can also be taken at any stage of the investigation.

Support can be provided to the fields of aviation, space, rail systems, and maritime technologies from the appropriation allocated for research and development by the Information and Communication Technologies Authority.

News Source: AA