The key facts

  • SCAT's Moscow — Almaty flight was interrupted by a landing in Astana due to an onboard system signal
  • SCAT sent a reserve aircraft and apologized for the delay in providing drinking water
  • The cause and type of the system trigger are not disclosed; there were no injuries

Landing in Astana

A passenger aircraft of the Kazakh airline SCAT, operating a Moscow — Almaty flight, made an unscheduled landing in Astana. According to the airline, one of the onboard systems was triggered during the flight, after which the crew decided to change the route and head the aircraft to the nearest suitable airport. According to the carrier, the landing proceeded normally, and no reports of injuries were received. However, SCAT did not specify which system had issued the signal or what caused it to trigger — this information has not yet been disclosed (as reported by Life.ru).

Delivery of passengers and complaints about service

To take the passengers to their destination, the company sent a reserve aircraft. However, after landing in Astana, some passengers were unhappy with how the service was organized: as the Kazakh outlet NewTimes.kzwrites, people said they were left for some time without water, food, or information about what would happen next. SCAT explained the delay in providing drinking water by the need to arrange its delivery to the airport and apologized for the inconvenience.

Context

This is not the only recent case of a flight being interrupted in Kazakh airspace: earlier, Life.ru reported an emergency landing of a Swiss aircraft in Almaty due to the co-pilot feeling unwell. That aircraft was flying from Seoul to Zurich and transmitted an emergency signal over Kazakhstan; after landing, the pilot received medical assistance. Unlike that incident, the SCAT aircraft's landing was related to a technical signal on board, not to the condition of the crew. The reasons for the onboard system being triggered on the Moscow — Almaty flight remain unknown at this time.