Air Astana Reopens London-Nursultan Flights
Flights between both the two capital cities have resumed, according to the Kazakh national airline. Flights connecting London Heathrow (LHR) and Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport (NZB) were resumed by Air Astana on Monday, April 15. (NQZ). The service will operate twice a week, with flights departing on Wednesdays and Saturdays, respectively.
The move comes only a few weeks after the Kazakhstan government announced that British people would no longer be required to get a visa to visit the country.
Furthermore, passengers who are completely vaccinated are excused from having their vaccination records checked before to arrival and from any quarantine requirements.
According to a statement from the airline,
“Air Astana has restarted its twice-weekly service between London Heathrow and Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan’s capital,” the airline said. Flights on Saturdays and Wednesdays are carried out by Airbus A321LR aircraft, which are available for charter. The arrival of the aircraft into Nur-Sultan provides simple onward connections to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, and Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan,” says the airline.
Flights between LHR and NQZ are available twice a week.
The Airbus A321LR aircraft operated by Air Astana will perform two round-trips to Heathrow on Wednesdays and Saturdays, each departing from Almaty. According to the airline’s schedule, aircraft departing from NQZ will be designated by the flight number KC 945, while flights returning will be designated by the flight number KC 946. KC 945 will leave Nur-Sultan Airport at 0610 local time for the 7-hour 15-minute flight westward to London Heathrow (LHR). The same aircraft will fly back as flight KC 946, which will depart London at 1225 hrs. In all, the flight takes six hours and thirty minutes on the return leg.
The first aircraft that took off from NQZ yesterday seems to have encountered a technical difficulty soon after taking off. According to FlightRadar24.com, KC 945 was diverted to Aktau International Airport (SCO) in western Kazakhstan.
In the early hours of the morning at SCO, the A321LR returned to the air for the first time at around 0515 UTC and began its flight towards London Heathrow.
At this time, Simple Flying is unable to determine if the detour was planned or was the result of unforeseen circumstances.
The service will be provided by Air Astana’s A321LR aircraft.
A fleet of roughly 30 planes, the vast majority of which are manufactured by Airbus, is now in service with Air Astana. The A321LR is the airline’s flagship aircraft, and it is operated by Airbus. With 16 business class seats and 150 economy class seats, it is configured in a two-class arrangement. A variety of in-flight entertainment devices are available in every seat.
As the long-range member of the Airbus A321 family, the aircraft has a range of 7,400 km (3,996 NM), making it the longest-range narrowbody aircraft in the world. Fortunately, Air Astana has business class seats with 45″ of pitch, ensuring that travelers remain comfortable even on extended flights. Airline passengers in economy class must make due with a 30″ seat pitch.
Consequences of the limitation of airspace in the vicinity.
As a result of the continuing crisis in Ukraine, some aircraft have either been prohibited from accessing Russian airspace or have chosen to avoid doing so on their own will.
Air Astana is classified as a second-tier airline. Kazakhstan Airlines, the country’s official carrier, stated a few days ago that all flights to and via Russia would be suspended.