Astana, 26 October. Kazakhstan's Emergencies Ministry aviation made 486 medical flights in the first nine months of 2026 and took 466 patients to hospital, averaging about 40 urgent flights a month, the ministry said.
Demand for the ministry's air ambulances grows every year: its aircraft made 295 flights in 2023, 421 in 2024 and 536 in 2025. The ministry's helicopters and planes fly patients out of mountain gorges and remote villages that ground ambulances take a long time to reach. The ministry did not give the average cost of a flight: it said it depends on the type of aircraft, flight duration, fuel prices, airport and air navigation charges and maintenance.
The Emergencies Ministry carries out only part of the country's air ambulance flights. Most are flown by the Health Ministry's medical aviation, coordinated by the National Coordination Centre for Emergency Medicine: in the first eight months of 2026 it made 1,495 flights and carried 1,543 patients, and doctors gave another 4,703 remote consultations. In all, air ambulances fly up to 2,000 times a year, including abroad when a seriously ill patient cannot return home on a regular flight.
The cost of an hour in the air can be judged from government figures for 2024: then 11.8 billion tenge was allocated for 2,244 flights, and the hourly rate for a Yak-40 plane had risen to 1.9 million tenge and for an EC-145 helicopter to 984,000 tenge.
What it means: Air ambulance services in Kazakhstan rest on two ministries: the Health Ministry handles most planned and emergency transport, while the Emergencies Ministry flies about 40 urgent missions a month, mainly from hard-to-reach places. The ministry's flights have almost doubled in three years.
Who benefits: Residents of remote districts, for whom a helicopter is the only quick way to reach a specialist hospital. For the budget it is an expensive service paid for by the state.
Background: The Health Ministry buys medical aviation services from airlines at the lowest price; in 2024 they were provided by 11 helicopters of the single operator Kazaviaspas and 18 planes.
