Almaty, 29 October. Air Astana has operated its first flight with high-speed satellite internet on board: on 29 October an Airbus A321LR registered EI-KGB flew from Almaty to Tashkent with a working Wi-Fi network, the Ministry of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development of Kazakhstan said.
The airline is installing the system together with the international satellite operator SES; the equipment is fitted by Air Astana’s own engineers at the carrier’s technical base, the ministry said. The rest of the A321LR fleet will be equipped in stages during 2027, the airline said. It did not say how many aircraft will get internet or by which month.
Until 31 January 2027 all passengers can use the onboard internet free of charge. From 1 February free Wi-Fi will remain for business-class passengers and for members of the Nomad Club loyalty programme with Gold and Diamond status; Nomad Club members of all tiers will be able to use messengers free of charge, and other passengers will be able to buy paid packages. The airline has not yet announced package prices.
The launch became possible after the authorities removed regulatory barriers. According to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Artificial Intelligence and Digital Development Zhaslan Madiyev, over the past year the use of non-geostationary satellite systems in aviation was worked out with foreign partners and satellite operators — these are constellations in low orbits that respond faster than conventional satellites at an altitude of about 36,000 km. The ministry said special connection conditions for air and water transport were written into legislation, and operators agreed to comply with Kazakh requirements, including on security. The relevant presidential decree was signed in June, the chairman of the Telecommunications Committee, Damir Seisembekov, said in September.
In September the Telecommunications Committee spoke of two possible connectivity providers, Viasat and OneWeb; the first aircraft took off with a third one, SES. At the time Seisembekov promised the first aircraft with internet “as early as October” — and the deadline was met.
What it means: Kazakhstan’s flag carrier has for the first time offered passengers internet in flight; what made it possible was not the technology, long used by foreign airlines, but the state’s permission for satellite connectivity on board.
Who benefits: Passengers gain connectivity in flight, free of charge until the end of January. Air Astana gains a new service that from February will be paid for most passengers and a perk for holders of top loyalty tiers. The satellite operator SES gains entry to the Kazakh aviation market.
Background: Air Astana has talked about onboard internet for more than a decade: its then president Peter Foster said the carrier was considering it for 2014 and choosing between three suppliers from Europe and the US. According to the ministry, the launch was held back by regulatory barriers to connecting to foreign satellite systems. In 2025 the ministry set the goal of making internet available on trains and aircraft; on the railways, it says, satellite connectivity already works. The Airbus A321LR is the long-range version of the narrow-body A321 that Air Astana flies, among other routes, to Europe.
