Air Astana operates repatriation flights for Kazakhstan citizens in Ukraine
Air Astana successfully undertook repatriation flights for Kazakhstan citizens in Ukraine on 28th February and 1st March 2022. Flights were operated using Airbus family aircraft between Katowice in southern Poland and Almaty/Nur-Sultan, with the first flight carrying 175 passengers and the second one carrying 120 passengers.
Additional flights will be operated for those Kazakhstan citizens seeking to leave Ukraine in next days. Passengers are flown free of charge under an agreement with the Government of Kazakhstan.
Peter Foster, Air Astana President and CEO, who went to Kyiv on the last international flight into the country on 23 February with Alexander Neboga, a senior colleague, to organise repatriation flights, and who returned on the first of those, said, “The situation on the Ukrainian-Poland border is absolutely critical. I have never seen anything like this before, and hopefully will never again.
There are thousands and thousands of people trying to cross the border. It would have been more challenging had there not been support of the Ambassador and the Embassy of Kazakhstan. We will continue with repatriation flights until we get every Kazakhstan citizen out.”
Air Astana had suspended its regular flights to Kyiv until at least 7th March due to emergency closure of Ukraine airspace. Passengers are offered free refund and re-booking until 31st March 2022 on tickets issued from 22nd February.
