Air Astana flight delay and cancellation compensation

Your rights on an Air Astana flight

Air Astana, the flag carrier of Kazakhstan, flies to Europe from its Almaty and Astana hubs, with Frankfurt and London among its westernmost destinations. It is not an EU or UK airline, so the European compensation rules follow the departure airport and nothing else.

• Departing an EU/EEA airport — EU261 applies, so a Frankfurt departure to Kazakhstan is covered.
• Departing a UK airport — UK261 applies to a London departure.
• Arriving into Europe from Kazakhstan — not covered. An Almaty to Frankfurt flight falls outside both regimes, because inbound protection from third countries exists only for EU- and UK-licensed carriers.

Compensation is triggered by a delay of three hours or more at the final destination, a cancellation with less than 14 days' notice, or involuntary denied boarding when the flight is oversold and you checked in on time.

How much you could receive

The law fixes three bands by route distance:

• EUR 250 — flights of 1,500 km or less
• EUR 400 — flights between 1,500 and 3,500 km
• EUR 600 — flights over 3,500 km

Both Kazakh hubs lie far beyond 3,500 km from western Europe, so a qualifying disruption on a Frankfurt departure is worth EUR 600 per passenger, and a London one GBP 520 under the UK bands of GBP 220 / GBP 350 / GBP 520. If a re-routing still gets you to Kazakhstan less than four hours late, Article 7(2) allows the airline to cut the top figure in half. The compensation sits alongside, not instead of, any refund or re-routing you accept.

When Air Astana doesn't have to pay

The only escape route is extraordinary circumstances that all reasonable measures could not have avoided — severe winter weather, air-traffic-control restrictions, airport closures, security alerts. The burden of proof rests with the airline for the specific flight, and harsh conditions at the destination do not excuse a European departure unless they genuinely fed through to it. A strike by Air Astana's own crew is generally not extraordinary, third-party strikes usually are, and technical faults from routine operations stay the airline's responsibility.

How to claim from Air Astana

Keep the booking reference, boarding passes and disruption notifications, and if you connected onwards in Almaty or Astana on the same booking, note the time you finally arrived. We prepare and file the claim with the airline, chase it to a substantive decision, and escalate to the German or UK enforcement body, or to court, where a refusal lacks evidence.

What it costs

The eligibility check is free. If we recover your compensation we charge a fixed EUR 39 success fee — the same whether you're owed EUR 250 or EUR 600 — and the airline's payment goes to you. No win, no fee.