FlyArystan

Is FlyArystan safe?

Yes, as far as its short record shows. Kazakhstan's low-cost airline has flown since May 2019 without an accident, it uses only Airbus A320s, and it is maintained by the same group engineering base and trained in the same simulator centre as its parent, Air Astana. We score it 79, one point above Air Astana. Its accident record is cleaner, and oversight is the same: both airlines answer to the same Kazakh authority, and both are IATA members, which requires an IOSAIOSAThe IATA Operational Safety Audit, an international audit of an airline's safety management and operations. Every IATA member must pass it.More in the glossary audit. But FlyArystan has had its own certificate only since April 2024, and seven years under the brand is too short to say much, so our confidence is low.

How FlyArystan is set up

Air Astana launched FlyArystan in May 2019 with two A320s in an all-economy, 180-seat layout, first on domestic routes. For almost five years it was a brand rather than an airline: its flights used Air Astana's certificate and KC flight numbers, and an AeroInside report of a 2020 flight still describes it as operating "on behalf of Air Astana". It became its own company, and on 1 April 2024 the Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan issued FlyArystan its own air operator certificate after what Air Astana called an extensive audit. That brought its own IATA code, FS.

FlyArystan remains 100% owned by Air Astana. It carried its 20 millionth passenger in October 2025, and the group plans to grow it to 32 aircraft by 2030.

Why is the score not higher?

The record is short. Seven years without an accident is good, but a long-established airline with the same record over 20 years would score in the 90s. Only two and a half of those years were under FlyArystan's own certificate. We score it 88.

Oversight matches Air Astana's, not a Western airline's. Kazakhstan's aviation authority has improved a lot: the EU cleared every Kazakh airline from its Air Safety ListEU Air Safety ListThe European Commission's list of airlines banned or restricted from flying in EU airspace because they do not meet international safety standards.More in the glossary in December 2016, and none is on the June 2026 list. FlyArystan is an IATA member, which requires an IOSAIOSAThe IATA Operational Safety Audit, an international audit of an airline's safety management and operations. Every IATA member must pass it.More in the glossary audit. But Kazakhstan is not on the FAA's IASAFAA IASAThe US FAA's check of whether a country's aviation regulator meets ICAO standards. Category 1 means it does; Category 2 means it does not.More in the glossary list and is outside the EASA system, so FlyArystan gets the same 72 as Air Astana.

What does it fly?

Only the Airbus A320, 28 of them at the end of June 2026. Some are older A320ceos; the rest are A320neos. Air Astana's fleet page gives two different splits, 16 ceos and 12 neos in one table and 12 and 16 in another. The group fleet averages about seven years, and FlyArystan's share is probably older because of its ceos.

The neos use Pratt & Whitney GTF engines, which since 2023 have needed early removals because of a metal defect and other durability problems. That has grounded aircraft across the group every summer since. In its results for the first half of 2026, Air Astana reported 60% fewer groundings than it had expected for summer 2026, and it expects none in 2027. We found no in-flight engine failure on a FlyArystan aircraft; Air Astana's own engine events are on its page.

Where it flies

Most flights are domestic: Almaty and Astana to Aktau, Atyrau and other regional cities. Some of these airports have shorter runways and less equipment than the two hubs. Winters on the steppe are long, with snow and strong crosswinds. Internationally, FlyArystan flies to Central Asia, the Caucasus (including Batumi), Turkey (Gazipaşa-Alanya), western China (Urumqi, Xi'an, Chongqing) and Goa in India. That is a harder network than a Western European low-cost airline's, and the environment scores 64.

Practical points for passengers

• Allow slack in winter. De-icing and snow clearing at regional airports cause delays; a tight connection onto an Air Astana flight is risky.
• Compare with Uzbekistan Airways on routes to Tashkent, which flies a full-service product at a similar safety level.

How we scored it

The accident record (88) carries the score: no accident in seven years. The fleet (76) is all A320s but includes older ceos and is affected by the GTF engine problems. Oversight (72) matches Air Astana's: the same Kazakh regulator, and IOSAIOSAThe IATA Operational Safety Audit, an international audit of an airline's safety management and operations. Every IATA member must pass it.More in the glossary through IATA membership. Incidents (74) are scored as a short, quiet record rather than a proven clean one, and the environment (64) reflects regional Kazakh airports and harsh winters.