According to him, London is to blame for it.
Political scientist Andrey Grozin, in an interview with the media, explained what caused the suspension of flights to Russia by the Kazakh air carrier Air Astana.
Recall that on the eve of the airline announced that it was suspending its flights to Russia and would not fly over its territory.
Insurance services for commercial Russian flights are also being discontinued, which was the reason for the cancellation of flights.
The company reported that the difficulties in air communication with Russia are temporary, and work is underway to restore.
It is known that in Air Astana, founded in 2001, 51% of its shares are owned by the Kazakh side, namely the Samruk-Kazyna Fund, and 49% belong to the British company BAE Systems PLC.
In an interview with “MK” Grozin explained that London should be blamed for the situation, since all aircraft were leased from the UK. The pilots of the carrier are well-paid Western professionals.
He also recalled that Air Astana officially announced the reason for the disruption of flights to Russia – this is a change in the conditions for providing insurance, which should probably be paid by UK companies.
Even if Kazakhstan formally owns a controlling stake, it cannot actually oppose anything to the British side.
Grozin suggested that the authorities of Kazakhstan were simply confronted with the fact. It is too early to judge their real attitude, the analyst believes.
Nevertheless, there are no air carriers larger than Air Astana in the country, as well as in Central Asia. It is also too early to judge the timing of her departure, Grozin believes.
“Before the coronacrisis, Russia accounted for about 50% of its flights. If we abandon this now, then everything can collapse. There’s just nowhere to fly”, – he predicts.
Earlier, Topnews wrote that on March 2, Boeing announced the termination of maintenance of Russian aircraft.
The next day, the Russian Ministry of Transport proposed to nationalize her property.