A passenger plane in the sky. File photoNUR-SULTAN, Feb. 23 Kazakhstani airline Air Astana will start flying to the Ukrainian capital Kiev on an alternative route, air traffic between the countries may be suspended immediately, the company's press service said.
"Air Astana is closely monitoring the situation in Ukraine and may immediately suspend flights between Kazakhstan and Ukraine. Taking into account that our fellow citizens are in Kiev who need to return to Kazakhstan, and also that there are citizens of Ukraine in Kazakhstan who need to get to their homeland, Air Astana continues flights between the two countries", the message says.
It is explained that in order to fly around the potentially conflict zone, the air carrier will operate flights between Kazakhstan and Ukraine along an alternative route with a technical stop in Atyrau and a later arrival and departure from Kiev. «Passengers registered for the flight will be notified of the updated schedule via SMS. The departure time from Almaty and Nur-Sultan remains unchanged,» the press service noted. in Donbass has escalated in recent weeks. The authorities of the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics announced a lot of shelling by the Ukrainian security forces. The leadership of the DPR and LPR announced the temporary evacuation of residents to the Rostov region in connection with the threat of Ukraine's invasion. This measure primarily concerns women, children and the elderly. On Saturday, February 19, the leaders of the republics signed decrees on general mobilization, and then turned to Russia with a request to recognize their independence. The night before, President Vladimir Putin said in a televised address that he considers it necessary to immediately recognize the sovereignty of the LPR and DPR, and signed the corresponding decrees. He also instructed to ensure the maintenance of peace in the republics.