Tengrinews.kz - An Almaty district court has partially upheld a lawsuit filed by passengers, ordering Air Astana to compensate a family from Aktobe for financial losses caused by a canceled vacation in Turkey, lawyer Danilkhan Shagatayev reported on Telegram.
The airline was also ordered to pay moral damages and cover the family's legal expenses.
Last year, a father and daughter from Aktobe had planned a holiday in Turkey. They had paid a travel agent for a package that included flights, hotel accommodation, transfers, and other services.
"The tourists were scheduled to fly from Aktobe to Almaty two days before their holiday, but their flight was canceled due to an aircraft malfunction. Air Astana informed passengers of the delay and repeatedly postponed the departure before ultimately canceling the flight. There were later claims that FlyArystan would operate the flight instead, but this turned out to be false. FlyArystan did not accept passengers from the original Air Astana flight, leaving the family stuck in Aktobe for two days," Shagatayev explained.
As a result, the family missed their vacation in Turkey.
The court found that Air Astana had not arranged for a replacement aircraft, instead relying on repairs to the faulty plane. When the aircraft could not be fixed in Aktobe, it was ferried to Astana without passengers. Shagatayev argued that if a replacement plane had been provided, the family might have made their connecting flight to Almaty.
The court ruled that Air Astana must refund the cost of all flights, including those within the travel package, and pay the family approximately one million tenge in additional compensation.
Earlier, Tengrinews.kz reported on a separate case involving a 12-year-old girl left alone at Astana Airport after being denied boarding. The airline sought to reduce the moral compensation from five million to 1.5 million tenge. However, the Almaty City Court rejected Air Astana’s appeal, upholding the initial ruling, which awarded the mother five million tenge in damages.