SCAT Airlines

SCAT Airlines, legally PLL SCAT Air Company, is an airline from Kazakhstan with its head office at Shymkent International Airport in Şymkent.^[2] It operates services to all major cities of Kazakhstan and neighboring countries. Its main base is Şymkent Airport, with focus cities at Aqtau International Airport, Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport, and Almaty International Airport.^[3]

PLL SCAT Air Company

SCAT airlines Boeing 737 MAX 9
IATA ICAO Call sign DV VSV VLASTA[1]
Founded	1997
Commenced operations	1997
Hubs	Şymkent International Airport
Focus cities	Almaty International Airport Aqtau International Airport Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport
Subsidiaries	Sunday Airlines
Fleet size	32
Destinations	60
Headquarters	Şymkent, Kazakhstan
Key people	Sergei Masloboyev (director) and D.Sytnik
Website	scat.kz

History

The airline was established and started operations in 1997.^[3] Its name is the acronym of Special Cargo Air Transport.^[4]

SCAT founded Sunday Airlines as a new charter venture and subsidiary, for which SCAT operates four Boeing 757-200s and one Boeing 767-300ER.^[5]

In November 2017, the airline signed a firm contract for the purchase of six aircraft of the latest generation Boeing 737 MAX 8 with the American corporation Boeing. On 29 March 2018, the company's fleet replenished the first Boeing 737 MAX 8 (with CFM International LEAP-1B engines) in any post-Soviet country. This is the first of the six purchased Boeing 737 MAX 8 aircraft.^[6]

In 2018, European airspace restrictions were lifted for SCAT Airlines ^{[citation needed]} and in May 2018, Vilnius became their first scheduled EU destination.^[7][8] In March 2018, SCAT Airlines was accepted as a full member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA). SCAT Airlines became the second Kazakhstan airline included in the IATA register.^[9]

On March 13, 2019, the operation of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft was suspended in Kazakhstan. On February 18, 2021, SCAT Airlines, the first outside the American continent, resumed regular commercial flights on Boeing 737 MAX after an almost two-year ban on the operation of these aircraft in Kazakhstan and elsewhere after two air crashes -  Lion Air Flight 610 in October 2018 in Indonesia and  Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 in March 2019 in Ethiopia.^[10][11][12]

Destinations

Main article: List of SCAT Airlines destinations

Codeshare and Interline agreements

SCAT Airlines codeshares with Azerbaijan Airlines^[13] and Interlines with APG Airlines.^[14]

Fleet

SCAT Airlines Boeing 737 MAX 8

As of April 2025^[update], the SCAT Airlines fleet consists of these aircraft:

SCAT Airlines Fleet^[15][16]

Aircraft	In service	Orders	Passengers			Notes
			C	Y	Total
Boeing 737-300	2	—	—	144	144
Boeing 737-500	2	—	—	118	118
Boeing 737-700	1	—	—	149	149
Boeing 737-800	8	—	—	189	189
Boeing 737 MAX 8	3	7	—	186	186	Launch CIS customer[17][18]
Boeing 737 MAX 9	5	—	—	213	213	Launch CIS customer
Boeing 757-200	3	—	—	235	235	Operated for Sunday Airlines
Boeing 767-300ER	1	—	32	268	300	Operated for Sunday Airlines
Bombardier CRJ200	4	—	—	50	50
Total:	29	7

Incidents and accidents

• On 29 January 2013, SCAT Airlines Flight 760 crashed near Kyzyltu during a low-visibility approach to Almaty International Airport. All 16 passengers and 5 crew were killed.^[19][20]
• On 26 July 2018, a SCAT Airlines Boeing 757-200, registration UP-B5705 performing flight DV-5038, struck its tail onto the runway surface with 236 passengers and 9 crew while going around at Almaty International Airport. No passengers or crew suffered injuries. The aircraft, however, received substantial damage.^[21]