Air Astana declares 2022 a record year

Air Astana carried 7.35 million passengers in 2002, an 11% growth over 2021 and the highest number of passengers in its 20 year history. When compared to 2019, the last pre-pandemic year, total passenger growth was 44%. Low-Cost subsidiary FlyArystan grew its passenger numbers by 366%, to 3.25 million.

Air Astana carried 7.35 million passengers in 2002, an 11% growth over 2021 and the highest number of passengers in its 20 year history. When compared to 2019, the last pre-pandemic year, total passenger growth was 44%. Low-Cost subsidiary FlyArystan grew its passenger numbers by 366%, to 3.25 million.

Commenting on the results, Air Astana President and CEO Peter Foster stated that “2022 exceeded expectations in spite of Kazakhstan’s political unrest in January, and the start of the war in Ukraine in February which resulted in the loss of routes to, from and over Russia. Extra capacity deployed to Asia, India, Europe, the Gulf and the Caucasus more than compensated for the loss of these routes”.

Looking ahead, Foster cautioned that airport and aviation service provider resource and supply chain problems, general inflationary pressures, and technical reliability issues with Pratt&Whitney 1100 engines, continue to threaten the industry. “However”, he noted, “in spite of these challenges, we expect growth to continue as we expand the route networks and fleet, with a further 29 Airbus 320 family and Boeing 787 aircraft expected between 2023 and the end of 2025”.