Foreign airline to pay compensation to Kazakh citizens

Ulpan Sabi

Illustrative archival photo of the editorial staff

Tengrinews.kz – A court in Almaty has ordered Lufthansa to compensate Kazakhstani passengers for damages caused by a disrupted flight. Details were shared by lawyer Danilkhan Shagataev.

The incident occurred on December 21, 2023, and legal proceedings have been ongoing since then.

According to the lawyer, on that day a flight from Frankfurt to Almaty made an unscheduled landing in Astana. Passengers, including a child, were stuck at the airport for about four hours without food, drinks, transportation, or any information from airline representatives. Eventually, they were advised to purchase tickets for another flight at their own expense.

“The airline’s representatives did not provide any information or explanation. Eventually, one representative advised passengers to buy tickets for another flight themselves, promising that Lufthansa would later reimburse the costs. As a result, the passengers purchased tickets for the next FlyArystan flight on December 22, 2023. They also had to pay for a hotel stay and excess baggage fees,” Shagataev wrote on his Telegram channel.

Despite the promise of reimbursement, the passengers never received compensation. Over a year and a half, they filed complaints to the Civil Aviation Committee, but all attempts were unsuccessful. They then decided to go to court.

“Based on the Montreal Convention, which Kazakhstan is a party to, the Turksib District Court of Almaty reviewed our claim against the foreign airline. The court ruled that Lufthansa must reimburse each passenger for the cost of the replacement tickets, hotel expenses, baggage fees, as well as compensate for emotional distress and legal costs. The decision has not yet entered into legal force,” clarified Shagataev.

By the way, on December 21, 2024, a school student flying with a group to Antalya under the care of Air Astana lost his passport upon arrival and spent two days in a deportation room. The airline refused to accept responsibility. This case was also handled by Shagataev.

The court partially upheld the claim against the airline. The company was ordered to pay:

336,568 tenge for material damages,
2,000,000 tenge for moral damages,
Compensation for legal representative services,
5,332 tenge in state fees.

However, the airline may file an appeal within one month.

flights compensation foreign company