Flight returned to Astana for an unexpected reason

Tengrinews.kz - On August 3, an unusual incident occurred on Air Astana flight KC954, which was en route from Astana to Almaty: after nearly completing the flight, passengers were forced to return to the capital.
A reader who was on board contacted the Tengrinews.kz editorial team via WhatsApp.

“We made it to Almaty, but they turned us back to Astana. In total — three hours in the air and a one-hour delay for the flight. But other flights landed in Almaty,” the passenger told us.

A similar story was shared by another passenger on social media. He explained that upon arrival in Almaty, the pilot was unable to land the aircraft due to weather conditions.

“I flew yesterday from Astana to Almaty with Air Astana. Upon arrival, the pilot couldn’t land because of the weather. In the end, we returned to Astana. Almost immediately after landing, the pilot announced that the weather in Almaty had improved, and that we would refuel and head back,” the passenger said.

He also noted that the preparation for the second flight was delayed due to security regulations.

“As I understand it, according to safety rules, if even one passenger disembarks (and there were at least five), the rest have to go through the security screening again. Honestly, the emotional fatigue hit me, so I’ll be skipping the Kazakhstan Cup event in Almaty,” he added.

We reached out to Air Astana’s press service for a comment.

“The flight was diverted back to Astana due to a thunderstorm in Almaty,” representatives of the airline explained.