FlyArystan to receive its own air operator certificate - Air Astana

ALMATY. Jan 19 (Interfax) - Kazakh low-cost airline FlyArystan will receive its own operator certificate, but this will not entail a change in the shareholder structure, Peter Foster, president of parent company Air Astana said.

"FlyArystan is a 100% subsidiary of Air Astana and there are absolutely no plans to change this status. At the same time, it is worth mentioning that within a few months [FlyArystan] will receive its own operator certificate. This is in compliance with regulatory requirements and is associated with ensuring flight safety, and is in no way related to the proposed change in the corporate structure of shareholders," Foster said at a briefing in Almaty on Friday.

As reported, deputies fromthe Ak Zhol faction in the government demanded that FlyArystan be removed from the national air carrier Air Astana structure and put up for privatization. Majilismen also demanded reduced prices for FlyArystan tickets, making them affordable to citizens.

Last October, Prime Minister Alikhan Smailov announced that the low-cost airline FlyArystan would leave Air Astana. The application for a separate air operator certificate was supposed to have been submitted in Q4 2023, but it did not happen.

Air Astana is a joint venture of the Samruk-Kazyna state fund and BAE Systems (51% and 49% of shares, respectively). The low-cost airline FlyArystan is a 100% subsidiary of Air Astana.