Fly Arystan Airbus A320 catches fire during maintenance at Almaty airport

A fire broke out on an Airbus A320 belonging to Fly Arystan, a subsidiary of Air Astana, during routine maintenance work at Almaty International Airport, according to the airline.

The incident happened on the afternoon of August 28. Video circulating in Kazakh media showed smoke and flames near the nose landing gear area, below the cockpit of the aircraft, which carries the registration EI-KBN.

An Air Astana Group spokeswoman confirmed the fire, describing it as a workplace accident that occurred while ground crews carried out scheduled maintenance. She said the blaze was contained to a limited area and was quickly extinguished by airport emergency responders.

One Air Astana Group employee was injured. The employee received medical treatment and was later discharged from hospital, the spokeswoman said. No passengers or crew members were aboard the twelve-year-old jet at the time.

The aircraft has been taken out of service, according to the airline, until the extent of the damage can be assessed and repairs completed. The company said it is working with airport authorities to determine the circumstances of the accident. Further details were not immediately provided.

The A320 was originally delivered in 2014 to Indian carrier Vistara, then registered VT-TTE, before being transferred to Fly Arystan in 2021 under Kazakh registration. The jet is leased rather than owned by Fly Arystan.