Air Astana has become the first  Kazakh  carrier to carry out a heavy maintenance C2 check on an Airbus A320, with the recent completion of the task for an aircraft belonging to low-cost subsidiary FlyArystan. Air Astana is aiming to complete two further C2 checks on Airbus family aircraft before the end of 2022 following the receipt of certification  by international authorities in August 2022.

"Our successful completion of the first heavy maintenance C2 check on an Airbus A320 serves to confirm the sophisticated capability of the company's engineering resource and staff,” said Robert Dando, Air Astana Senior Maintenance Manager. ”The ongoing commitment to developing in-house maintenance strength will significantly reduce costs previously incurred when heavy maintenance tasks were undertaken outside Kazakhstan.”

Heavy maintenance C2 checks involve in-depth inspections and tests on every part of the aircraft, including non-destructive testing of the aircraft's structure. Checks need carried out on Airbus aircraft every 24 000 flight hours or 16 000 landings. In addition to C2 checks, Air Astana has been certified to conduct C1 checks on Airbus A320/A321 aircraft since 2019.  Looking further ahead, Air Astana has begun preparations for six year and twelve year maintenance checks, for which it expects to receive certification in mid 2023. This will allow Air Astana to carry out all levels of maintenance on the Airbus A320/A321 aircraft at the maintenance base in Astana