Bird Strike at Astana Airport Leads to Major Flight Delay

A bird strike incident at Astana Airport caused a significant 12-hour delay for a SCAT Airlines return flight from the Kazakh capital to Shymkent, the airline confirmed.

The passengers were provided with meals and hotel accommodation, spokesperson of SCAT Airlines Viktoriya Starozhilova says, The Caspian Post reports, citing Kazakh media.

According to her, the incident occurred during landing of the plane at Astana Airport. The damaged part was replaced.

“Please note that the company cannot manage bird movement, and we ask you to accept with understanding flight rescheduling associated with such situations. Passenger safety remains our top priority,” she emphasized.

On January 26, FlyArystan's FS 7366 aircraft flying from Uralsk to Astana collided with a flock of birds after takeoff. In a statement, Air Astana group of companies said that the aircraft continued the flight and safely landed at the airport in Astana due to the absence of system and engine malfunctions.