Air Astana’s Ulaanbaatar flight launch halted by regulator
Wednesday, 20 May, 2016
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Air Astana’s planned launch of flights to Ulaanbaatar have been abruptly cancelled after permission was revoked by the Civil Aviation Authority of Mongolia (CAAM).
The service was due to begin on June 2, 2016.
In a statement Air Astana said the Air Services Agreement between the Kazakhstan and the Mongolia was signed in 1992 with a Memorandum of Understanding detailing the number of flights to be operated between the two countries inked in 2014.
CAAM granted permission to start flights in March 2016, the airline said, and then suddenly withdrew approval in April ‘without any valid grounds.’
The Air Services Agreement explicitly details grounds for denial of service, but none of these apply to Air Astana.
The Mongolian regulator has not reversed this decision despite efforts by Kazakhstan government officials and Air Astana itself, and Kazakhstan says Mongolia is in breach of intergovernmental air services protocol and plans to take up the matter with the ICAO Council.
Air Astana ‘deeply regrets the inconvenience caused to its passengers for reasons beyond its best efforts and control,’ and is contacting all affected passengers with confirmed bookings, it said.
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Editor for TravelMole North America and Asia pacific regions. Ray is a highly experienced (15+ years) skilled journalist and editor predominantly in travel, hospitality and lifestyle working with a huge number of major market-leading brands. He has also cover in-depth news, interviews and features in general business, finance, tech and geopolitical issues for a select few major news outlets and publishers.
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