SCAT Airlines

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

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

In November 2017, the airline signed a firm contract for the purchase of six aircraft of the latest generation Boeing 737 MAX 8 with 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.

In 2018, European airspace restrictions were lifted for SCAT Airlines and in May 2018, Vilnius became their first scheduled EU destination. 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.

On March 13, 2019, the operation of Boeing 737 MAX aircraft was suspended in Kazakhstan. On February 18, 2021, SCAT Airlines, becoming the first airline outside North America to do so, 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.

As at August 2026, SCAT was preparing to enter the cargo market with a Boeing 767-300ER being converted to a freighter.

Destinations

Codeshare and Interline agreements

SCAT Airlines codeshares with Azerbaijan Airlines and interlines with APG Airlines.

Fleet

As of July 2026, SCAT Airlines operates the following aircraft:

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.

On 26 July 2018, a SCAT Airlines Boeing 757-200, registered as 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.