A FlyArystan flight from Almaty to Pavlodar was forced to turn back and return to its departure airport after coming within about 300 kilometers of its destination. The situation was first reported by a Threads user under the handle meirkmz, and the airline later issued an official comment, according to infohub.kz.
"Almaty-Pavlodar flight. About 300 km short of Pavlodar, the aircraft is returning to Almaty," the Kazakh user wrote on the social network.
The carrier's official Telegram channel provided details of what happened. "Flight FS-7131 from Almaty to Pavlodar on October 20, 2026 returned to Almaty and was canceled; the return flight FS-7132 has also been canceled. The reason was the inability to carry out de-icing of the aircraft at Pavlodar airport. During the flight, the weather forecast for Pavlodar worsened: precipitation was expected, under which de-icing is mandatory before takeoff. To prevent a situation in which the flight could not depart Pavlodar safely, a decision was made to return to Almaty. Further information on the resumption of flights will be announced later," the airline said.
The press service explained that during precipitation and temperatures around 0 degrees, ice, frost or snow form on the aircraft's surface, degrading the aerodynamic characteristics of the wing. De-icing fluid removes the deposits and protects against their re-formation. Flight safety requirements do not permit departure without de-icing under such conditions.
Passengers were reminded that they can arrange one free rebooking to the nearest flight, subject to seat availability, or receive a full refund of the ticket price.