Airlines fined over complaints from Kazakhstanis: penalties seen as largely symbolic

Tengrinews.kz – In 2025, Kazakhstan’s Civil Aviation Committee (CAC) held four domestic airlines administratively liable for violations of passenger, baggage and cargo transportation rules.

Who was fined and how much

According to the CAC, seven administrative cases were initiated against airlines in 2025 for breaching passenger transport regulations. As a result, four Kazakh airlines were fined.

“The total amount of fines imposed on airlines for violations amounted to 2.8 million tenge,” the committee said.

The following airlines received fines in 2025:

• Air Astana – 1,966,000 tenge
• FlyArystan – 491,500 tenge
• SCAT – 196,600 tenge
• Qazaq Air (Vietjet Qazaqstan) – 98,300 tenge

What the airlines were penalized for

The committee clarified that all sanctions were related to violations of passenger service rules:

• Air Astana was fined for failing to inform passengers about a flight delay;
• FlyArystan for not providing mandatory services during a delay and for violating baggage transportation rules;
• Qazaq Air for refusing to pay compensation to a passenger after a forced ticket refund;
• SCAT for breaching passenger service rules at airports, including during boarding pass checks.

All fines stemmed from passenger complaints

The CAC emphasized that all administrative cases in 2025 were initiated following passenger complaints and unscheduled inspections triggered by specific appeals.

“All administrative protocols are drawn up by the committee based on passenger complaints and unscheduled inspections. No scheduled inspections related to passenger rights and service quality are conducted in the civil aviation sector,” the committee said.

In other words, passenger complaints were the sole basis for all sanctions imposed.

No plans to tighten penalties

The committee also noted that no tightening of fines is planned for 2026. Liability measures continue to be applied under existing articles of the Code of Administrative Offenses.

At the same time, the CAC stressed that Kazakhstan’s domestic air transport market remains fully liberalized. There are no restrictions on operating regular domestic flights, and administrative fines remain the main enforcement tool.

“Since 2012, all restrictions on regular domestic flights have been lifted. Any Kazakh airline with the appropriate authorization is free to open and operate regular routes on any domestic direction, based on actual demand and passenger flow,” the committee said.

Airlines independently set flight schedules and open ticket sales. As in international practice, Kazakh carriers determine schedules and fares under market conditions, taking into account demand, seasonality, aircraft load factors and other economic considerations.

Information on imposed fines is recorded in the Unified Register of Administrative Protocols, but access to this system is restricted. There is no public list of offending airlines, and the committee publishes only selected press releases on enforcement actions.