Kazakh carrier Air Astana’s budget airline spin-off, FlyArystan, has secured its own air operator’s certificate, five years after it emerged.
While FlyArystan commenced services in May 2019 it has conducted them under the AOC of its parent airline.
Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan states that it has completed a five-stage certification of FlyArystan with its inspectors carrying out the work in Almaty.
The certification was conducted in co-operation with Irish Aviation Authority representatives. FlyArystan’s fleet of 18 Airbus A320s and A320neos – with six more aircraft arriving this year – is Irish-registered.
“This makes it the right time for FlyArystan to obtain its own operator certificate, reflecting the increased size and operational complexity of the airline,” says Air Astana Group chief Peter Foster.
Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan states that the process has involved such activities as demonstration flights, simulations, and checks on emergency evacuation procedures.
“This represents a significant moment in the development of the aviation industry in the republic of Kazakhstan,” says the regulator’s director general Catalin Radu.
“This is a confirmation of the company’s readiness for safe and quality aviation activities.”
Air Astana says FlyArystan was granted its AOC on 1 April.
“Under its own AOC, FlyArystan will be able to align operations more effectively with its low-cost carrier model and pursue additional growth opportunities,” it adds. The carrier will be able to have its own IATA designator code.
Air Astana will continue to wholly-own FlyArystan. But it says that the separate AOC provides a regulatory framework for the airline to expand, and is “vital” to the subsidiary carrier’s development.
