Kazakhstan, Astana, Nov. 21 / Trend D. Mukhtarov /
The number of regular flights in Kazakhstan increased by three per cent to 87.3 per cent for the past 10 months, the Kazakh Ministry of Transport and Communications said today.
"The airports served 46,015 flights, of which 5818 were delayed," the ministry said.
The ministry said that the main causes of delays are the late arrival of aircraft, weather conditions at airports and technical faults.
Deputy Chairman of the Civil Aviation Committee Serik Muhtybaev said the Ministry of Transport and Communications daily conducts monitoring to improve the situation with flight schedules. Moreover, the Kazakh Republic's bill on 'Amendments and additions to some legislative acts on transport' includes measures to strengthen the liability of air carriers during delays.
The topic of delays, passenger rights and obligations of airlines in these situations have been discussed at round table at Astana airport today during the press tour organised by the Ministry of Transport and Communications, Astana International Airport and Air Astana.
Special attention was paid to the rights of passengers in case of flight delays. So, the airport must provide passengers with children under seven (in case of flight delays) with mother and child rooms. The passenger has the right to make two telephone calls, including international lines for no more than five minutes or send two e-mails while waiting for a flight for more than two hours.
If the flight is delayed for more than two hours, passengers must be provided with drinks and in four hours with hot meals. In case of waiting for the flight for more than eight hours during a day and more than six hours at night, the airline must accommodate passengers at a hotel. If the flight delay exceeds 10 hours, the carrier must return the ticket money at the passenger's request, or offer to travel on another flight.