Last updated: August 2026 · Written by the Kazakhstan Tourism Guide editorial team
Kazakhstan is the ninth-largest country on Earth, and there are days when that really sinks in — usually when you’re staring at a 14-hour train journey and wondering if there’s a faster way. There is, and it often costs less than you’d think.
Domestic flights in Kazakhstan are dominated by three airlines: the full-service flag carrier Air Astana, its low-cost arm FlyArystan, and the Shymkent-based SCAT. A fourth, Qazaq Air, is being rebranded as Vietjet Qazaqstan. The flagship Almaty–Astana hop takes about 1 hour 40 minutes and costs roughly US$40–90 one way — often cheaper and always faster than the overnight train.
If you only remember one budget name, make it FlyArystan — Air Astana’s low-cost carrier and the cheapest way to cover the country’s vast distances. Below I break down each airline, the routes, the fares and the all-important baggage rules, with prices converted at about 470 tenge to US$1. Fares move constantly, so treat them as “from around” figures and check live prices when you book.
Kazakhstan’s domestic airlines at a glance
Four carriers do almost all the domestic flying. Here’s how they compare on the things that matter — including whether a checked bag is included, which trips up a lot of first-time bookers.
| Airline | Type | Main hubs | Almaty–Astana one-way | Checked bag included? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Air Astana | Full-service | Almaty, Astana | US$60–90 | Yes |
| FlyArystan | Low-cost | Almaty, Astana, Aktau | US$40–70 | No (paid add-on) |
| SCAT | Regional | Shymkent, Aktau | US$45–80 | Varies by fare |
| Vietjet Qazaqstan (ex-Qazaq Air) | Regional/LCC | Astana | US$45–80 | Varies by fare |
Why fly domestically in Kazakhstan?
It comes down to the sheer size of the place. Almaty to Astana is about 1,300 kilometres; Almaty to Aktau on the Caspian is the width of Western Europe. A domestic flight turns a day-and-a-half train ride into a couple of hours, and on the competitive routes the fare can undercut a comfortable train berth. The trade-off is that you miss the steppe scenery and the sociable sleeper-train culture — so many travellers do one long leg by air to save time and another by rail for the experience. Our train travel guide makes the case for the slow option; this one is about when to take to the air.
The airlines that fly Kazakhstan’s domestic network
Four names cover almost everywhere you’ll want to go. Here’s who they are and what to expect.
Air Astana — the full-service flag carrier
Air Astana is Kazakhstan’s national airline and the largest carrier in Central Asia, with hubs in both Almaty and Astana and a network reaching right across the country. It’s a genuinely good full-service airline — repeatedly voted the best in Central Asia — flying a modern Airbus fleet with an average age of around six years, and it listed on the London Stock Exchange in 2024. Fares include a checked bag, seat selection and a snack, so while the headline price is higher than the budget carriers, you get more in the base fare. It’s the pick if you value comfort and a hassle-free bag.
FlyArystan — Kazakhstan’s low-cost carrier
FlyArystan is Air Astana’s low-cost subsidiary, launched in 2019, and it’s the cheapest way to fly domestically. It flies a fleet of Airbus A320s to more than a dozen domestic destinations from bases in Almaty, Astana and Aktau, and it draws its safety, engineering and training standards from its full-service parent — so you get budget prices without a fly-by-night operation. As with any low-cost carrier, the cheap fare is bare: the free cabin allowance is 7 kilograms (raised from 5kg in March 2026) under a one-piece rule, and anything checked is a paid extra. Price the whole trip, bag included, before you celebrate the fare.
SCAT Airlines — the Shymkent workhorse
SCAT is a long-established regional carrier based in Shymkent, flying an all-Boeing 737 fleet — including newer 737 MAX jets — to some 60 destinations, with focus cities at Aktau, Astana and Almaty. Its subsidiary Sunday Airlines handles charter and holiday routes on larger jets. SCAT is a no-frills operation, and it’s particularly useful for reaching the west and some of the smaller regional airports that the bigger carriers serve less often. Notably, SCAT was the first airline outside the Americas to return the 737 MAX to service back in 2021.
Qazaq Air — now becoming Vietjet Qazaqstan
There’s been genuine confusion about Qazaq Air, so here’s the current picture: it was not shut down. Vietnam’s VietJet acquired a controlling stake, and the airline is being rebranded as Vietjet Qazaqstan, with the privatisation finalised at the end of 2025. It’s still flying domestically in the meantime, based in Astana with a small fleet of turboprop Dash 8-400s serving regional routes, and the plan is to grow it into a larger low-cost operation with Boeing 737 MAX jets over the coming years. During the transition you’ll see both names in the wild, so don’t be surprised to encounter either.
Minor carriers
Beyond the big four, you may come across the small operator Zhezair on a few niche regional routes. For nearly all visitors, though, Air Astana, FlyArystan, SCAT and the airline formerly known as Qazaq Air cover everything you’ll need.
Main hubs and domestic routes
The domestic network revolves around a handful of airports. Almaty (ALA) and Astana (NQZ) are the twin hubs, connected by the busiest route in the country with multiple daily flights on several airlines. Shymkent (CIT) is SCAT’s home and the gateway to the south and the Silk Road city of Turkestan. Aktau (SCO) on the Caspian is the essential arrival point for the otherworldly landscapes of Mangystau — flying there saves a multi-day overland slog. Regional airports like Karaganda, Kostanay, Pavlodar, Ust-Kamenogorsk and Atyrau round out the map, most reachable via Almaty or Astana.
Typical domestic fares
Domestic flying is affordable, especially if you book ahead. The flagship Almaty–Astana route runs roughly US$40–90 one way (about 19,000–42,000 tenge) and takes around 1 hour 40 minutes — book early on FlyArystan and you’ll be at the low end. Longer hauls cost more: Almaty–Aktau, at around three and a half hours, typically runs US$130–235 one way, reflecting the distance and thinner competition. As a rule, the routes with three or four airlines competing (anything between the big hubs) are cheap, while the long thin routes to the regions cost more. For how flights fit your overall spending, see our Kazakhstan trip cost guide.
Baggage rules compared
This is where the cheap fares can bite, so read carefully. Air Astana includes a checked bag and cabin baggage in its normal fares — the simplest option if you’re travelling with luggage. FlyArystan runs a one-piece low-cost model: you get 7kg of cabin baggage free, and checked bags are a paid add-on (20kg in its “Comfort” package, 32kg in “Comfort Plus”, or bought separately), and it’s cheaper to add a bag online in advance than at the airport. SCAT and the former Qazaq Air sit in between, with allowances that vary by fare type. The golden rule: if you’re checking a bag, price the budget fare with the bag added before comparing it to Air Astana — sometimes the full-service ticket wins.
How to book domestic flights
You can book directly on each airline’s website, or through Kazakhstan’s two big travel platforms, aviata.kz and Chocotravel, which aggregate all the domestic carriers in English and let you pay in tenge. Those platforms are the easy way to compare fares across airlines on a route, and they handle foreign cards well. Book ahead for the best prices — domestic fares, like everywhere, are cheapest a few weeks out and climb as the plane fills. If you’re pairing a domestic flight with your international arrival, our guide to flights to Kazakhstan covers the through-connections and the open-jaw trick of flying into one city and out of another.
Reliability, service and safety
Are Kazakhstan’s airlines safe? Yes. The European Union removed all Kazakh carriers from its air-safety list back in 2016, ending a country-wide concern, and Air Astana in particular has an excellent safety and service record with a young fleet. FlyArystan benefits from its parent’s engineering and training, and SCAT flies modern 737s alongside its older jets. Service levels vary as you’d expect: Air Astana is full-service and polished; FlyArystan is reliable but bare-bones, with no seat-back entertainment or Wi-Fi and strict baggage; SCAT is functional. On-time performance is generally decent, though winter weather can cause delays, so leave a buffer if you’re connecting to an international flight. For getting between the airport and the city at either end, see the Almaty airport guide and Astana airport guide.
Which airline should you choose?
With four carriers on some routes, here’s a simple way to decide. Pick Air Astana if you’re travelling with a checked bag, want assigned seating and a snack, or are connecting to or from an international flight and value reliability — the all-in fare is often better value than it looks once you’d have paid for a bag anyway. Pick FlyArystan if you’re travelling light and want the lowest price, and you’re happy to add a bag as a paid extra. Pick SCAT or Vietjet Qazaqstan when they serve a regional airport the big two don’t, or when they’re simply cheapest on your date. On the busy Almaty–Astana corridor, compare all of them on an aggregator and let price and timing decide.
Flying to Aktau, Shymkent and the regions
The single best case for a domestic flight is reaching the far-flung corners. Aktau, on the Caspian in the far west, is the gateway to Mangystau’s chalk canyons and underground mosques — and it’s around 3,000 kilometres of empty steppe from Almaty by road, so a three-and-a-half-hour flight is transformative. Shymkent in the south is a quick hop and puts you within reach of Turkestan and the Silk Road sights. For the eastern Altai, flights to Ust-Kamenogorsk save days of overland travel. These are the routes where flying isn’t just convenient but genuinely opens up parts of the country you’d otherwise struggle to fit into a normal trip — worth factoring into your Kazakhstan itinerary.
Tips for booking cheap domestic flights
- Compare on an aggregator. aviata.kz and Chocotravel show every domestic carrier on a route in English — the fastest way to find the cheapest fare and pay in tenge.
- Book a few weeks out. Domestic fares are lowest well before departure and climb as the flight fills; last-minute is rarely cheap.
- Add bags online, not at the airport. On FlyArystan a checked bag bought in advance is markedly cheaper than at the desk.
- Price the budget fare with the bag. Once you add checked luggage to a low-cost ticket, the all-inclusive Air Astana fare sometimes wins.
- Consider an open-jaw. Flying into Almaty and out of Astana (or vice versa) with a domestic hop between avoids backtracking across the country.
- Fly the long legs, train the scenic ones. Save your time on the giant distances and take the rails where the journey is the point.
At the airport: check-in and boarding
Domestic flying here is refreshingly simple. Turn up around 90 minutes to two hours before departure — domestic check-in and security are usually quick, but the budget carriers can have long bag-drop queues at peak times. You’ll need your passport (the same document you booked with) as ID even on domestic flights, and a printed or mobile boarding pass. The two main hubs are modern and easy to navigate, and both sit close to their cities, so getting to the airport is a short, cheap taxi or bus ride — the details are in our Almaty airport guide. Grab water after security, since onboard drinks are paid for on the low-cost carriers, and keep your 7kg cabin bag within the size limit to avoid a gate-check fee on FlyArystan.
Air Astana’s growth — and why it matters
It’s worth knowing that Kazakhstan’s aviation scene is on the up, because it means more routes and more competition on fares. Air Astana listed publicly in 2024, grew its revenue past US$1.4 billion in 2025, appointed a new chief executive in early 2026, and is taking delivery of its first Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners in the second half of 2026 to expand long-haul flying. For domestic travellers, a healthy, growing flag carrier — plus an expanding FlyArystan and the VietJet-backed relaunch of the former Qazaq Air — points to more frequencies and keener prices on the busy routes over the next few years. In a country this size, that competition is genuinely good news for your wallet.
Paying, changes and no-shows
Domestic tickets are bought like any flight: pay by card on the airline site or an aggregator, and you’ll get an e-ticket by email. Budget fares are the least flexible — changes cost money and no-shows usually forfeit the fare — while Air Astana’s higher fare classes and the flexible options on the aggregators allow changes for a fee. If your plans are uncertain, it can be worth paying a little more for a changeable fare, especially on a route you might need to shift. As with the trains, book the cities and legs you’re sure of early, and keep the flexible fares for the parts of the trip still in flux. For how all this fits together, our getting around Kazakhstan guide compares flights, trains and buses side by side.
Frequently asked questions
Is FlyArystan a good airline?
For a low-cost carrier, yes. FlyArystan is reliable, punctual enough and backed by parent Air Astana’s engineering, training and safety systems, so it’s a solid budget option. Just go in knowing what “low-cost” means here: 7kg of free cabin baggage, paid checked bags, no frills on board, and cheap fares that reward booking ahead.
What happened to Qazaq Air?
Qazaq Air wasn’t shut down. Vietnam’s VietJet took a controlling stake and is rebranding it as Vietjet Qazaqstan, with the deal finalised at the end of 2025. It continues to fly domestic regional routes from Astana on turboprop aircraft during the transition, with a plan to expand into a larger jet operation over the next few years.
How much is a flight from Almaty to Astana?
Roughly US$40–90 one way depending on the airline and how far ahead you book, with FlyArystan usually cheapest and Air Astana dearest but all-inclusive. The flight takes about 1 hour 40 minutes — far quicker than the 13-plus-hour train, and often no more expensive than a comfortable berth.
Which is the best airline in Kazakhstan?
Air Astana is the best full-service option — repeatedly named the top airline in Central Asia — with a modern fleet, included baggage and good service. FlyArystan is the best for a low budget. SCAT is useful for regional and western routes. The right choice depends on whether you’re optimising for comfort or price.
Can I pay for domestic flights in tenge?
Yes. Booking on the airline sites or on aviata.kz and Chocotravel, you can pay in tenge, and these platforms accept foreign cards reliably. They also let you compare all the domestic carriers on a route in English, which makes finding the cheapest fare straightforward.
Are domestic flights in Kazakhstan safe?
Yes. The European Union removed all Kazakh airlines from its air-safety list in 2016, and the main carriers fly modern aircraft — Air Astana’s fleet averages around six years old, and FlyArystan operates under its parent’s safety and engineering systems. As anywhere, winter weather is the main cause of delays rather than any safety concern.
Should I fly or take the train between Almaty and Astana?
Fly if you value time: it’s under two hours versus 13-plus by rail, and the fare is often similar to a comfortable train berth. Take the train if you want the scenery, the sociable sleeper experience and to save a hotel night. Many travellers do one leg each way — fly out, train back, or the reverse.
Do domestic flights in Kazakhstan include meals?
On Air Astana, a snack or light meal is included in the fare. On the low-cost carriers FlyArystan and the former Qazaq Air, food and drinks are paid extras bought on board or in advance, so grab water and a snack after security if you want something for the flight. Most domestic hops are short enough that it hardly matters.
How far ahead should I book domestic flights in Kazakhstan?
A few weeks out is the sweet spot for the best fares, especially on the busy Almaty–Astana route and in summer. Prices climb as the plane fills and last-minute seats are rarely cheap. For the thinner regional routes, booking early also ensures a seat, since some destinations have only one or two flights a day.
Can I fly with FlyArystan internationally too?
Yes — alongside its domestic network, FlyArystan flies a number of international routes from Kazakhstan to nearby countries and the Gulf. The same low-cost rules apply: cheap base fares, 7kg of free cabin baggage and paid checked bags. For reaching Kazakhstan from abroad, our flights to Kazakhstan guide covers the international options in full.
Final thoughts
Domestic flights are the quiet secret to seeing more of Kazakhstan in less time. Use FlyArystan or the aggregator sites to snap up a cheap Almaty–Astana hop, fly rather than drive to far-flung Aktau for Mangystau, and save the trains for the journeys where the ride itself is the reward. Book a few weeks ahead, watch the budget-fare baggage rules, and you’ll cover this enormous country quickly and cheaply — leaving more time for the canyons, the steppe and the cities at either end. Compare the carriers on an aggregator, add your bags online, and let the plane do the heavy lifting across Kazakhstan’s enormous map — it is, quite often, the smartest ticket you will buy on the whole trip, and it buys back days you can spend somewhere far more interesting than a train corridor.
Photo credits
Images via Wikimedia Commons: FlyArystan Airbus A320neo — Erdeniz Sanlav (CC BY 2.0); SCAT Airlines Boeing 737 MAX — Anna Zvereva (CC BY-SA 2.0).
