Air Astana Returns to Dubai on July 15: How to Handle Disrupted Business Trips

Starting today, regular Almaty — Dubai and Astana — Dubai flights resume after being suspended amid the escalation in the Middle East. Here is how to sort out the fallout from the cancellations without losses for your company.

What happened. On July 12, flight KC205 from Astana to Dubai returned to its departure airport shortly after takeoff, and flight KC897 from Almaty was cancelled. The airline then pulled all UAE flights on July 13 and 14. From July 15, according to Air Astana, both routes are operating on schedule, though the carrier explicitly warns that the timetable may be adjusted again depending on the situation in the region.

What passengers of cancelled flights are entitled to:

1. A full refund of the ticket price at the point of purchase — with no penalties.
2. A free rebooking from flights scheduled for July 12–18 to any date up to and including July 31.

Please note: free rebooking applies only within this window. If a business trip is being pushed to August, it makes more sense to take the refund and buy a new ticket.

What travel managers should do today:

1. Check all employees with Dubai segments, or connections through Dubai, through the end of July.
2. Verify the flight status before every departure — the airline has warned of possible changes to departure and arrival times.
3. Build in a buffer for critical meetings: plan to arrive a day early rather than just in time.

The situation extends beyond the UAE: according to Kursiv, VietJet Qazaqstan suspended Astana — Omsk flights from July 9 to 20. Eastern and northern routes currently call for extra attention in planning.

Questions about specific bookings are handled by Air Astana via help.airastana.com and the hotline +7 727 244 4477.

If you have employees traveling to the UAE in July, save this post and forward it to the colleagues who arrange business trips.