Prague Airport recently announced on X that a new route is on the horizon, which will connect the Czech capital to Sanya, the southernmost city on Hainan Island in China. And it might surprise some to learn which airline is starting the route, a lesser-known Kazakh carrier, SCAT Airlines. The airline has been flying across Kazakhstan and Central Asia since 1997 and is one of the country’s oldest active carriers.
Over the years, it has grown steadily, expanding beyond domestic routes to several destinations across Central Asia. Its main base is at Shymkent Airport, with additional operations from Aktau, Nursultan, and Almaty. According to ch-aviation, the carrier currently operates a fleet of around 32 aircraft, including Boeing 737s, 737 MAXs, and 757s.
SCAT Airlines To Start New Route From Prague Next Month
According to Prague Airport’s announcement, starting December 21, SCAT Airlines will operate a new weekly service from Prague to Sanya, with a technical stop in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. The flight will run every Sunday, using the airline’s 213-seat all-economy Boeing 737 MAX 9.
As per the airline’s schedule, flight DV481 will depart Sanya Phoenix International Airport (SYX) at 08:05 local time and arrive in Prague Václav Havel Airport Prague (PRG) at 15:20, completing the roughly 14-hour journey. The return service, flight DV482, will depart Prague at 16:50 and land in Sanya the following day at 12:30. Tickets for the route are currently on sale from around $434 one-way.
SCAT Airlines’ Growing European Network
SCAT Airlines first began operating to Prague in 2019, when it launched a twice-weekly service between Astana (then Nur-Sultan) and the Czech capital using its 149-seat Boeing 737-700. According to the airline, more than 30,000 passengers used the nonstop route in its first year. The service was later suspended but returned in May 2024 after a four-year break. It now operates twice a week, on Wednesdays and Saturdays, using the Boeing 737 MAX 8, with no direct competition on the route.
That being said, during the summer months (between May and August), SCAT increased frequencies to up to four weekly flights to meet demand. Indeed, over the years, the airline has gradually expanded its European footprint. According to aviation analytics provider Cirium, SCAT now operates nine destinations across Europe. This includes new services launched in 2025 to Belgrade, Budapest, and Munich.
|
SCAT Airlines Top 10 European Routes in 2025 |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Route |
Total Flights (one way) |
Total Seats (one way) |
|
Almaty–Moscow |
538 |
101,128 |
|
Astana–Moscow |
338 |
52,538 |
|
Almaty–Antalya |
200 |
53,149 |
|
Shymkent–Moscow |
159 |
27,796 |
|
Astana–Saint Petersburg |
159 |
26,871 |
|
Astana–Antalya |
146 |
32,561 |
|
Shymkent–Istanbul |
145 |
24,753 |
|
Astana–Prague |
130 |
21,970 |
|
Shymkent–Budapest |
63 |
10,647 |
|
Shymkent–Munich |
63 |
12,600 |
In May, the carrier started flights connecting Munich to Shymkent with three weekly flights on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Notably, this marked Munich Airport’s third scheduled route to Central Asia. In addition, more recently, on Monday, November 3, the airline introduced a twice-weekly service between Astana and Belgrade, operated by a Boeing 737-800. This is its first route to Serbia in over two decades.
Furthermore, SCAT also added a new route to Budapest from its main hub in Shymkent this summer, offering two weekly flights. Besides, the carrier continues to serve key destinations in Russia and Turkey, including Moscow, Antalya, Istanbul, Saint Petersburg, and Minsk. According to Cirium data, by the end of 2025, SCAT is expected to operate more than 2,300 one-way flights to Europe.
SCAT Was The First Central Asian Carrier To Operate The 737 MAX
SCAT Airlines, which is officially titled Special Cargo Air Transport, was founded in 1997 and has since grown to become Kazakhstan’s second-largest carrier. The airline started its operations with scheduled passenger services from Shymkent to other cities across Kazakhstan using Antonov An-24 aircraft. Over the years, it has expanded steadily across Central Asia, and has moved from domestic to international routes, and has established itself as a key regional operator.
For much of its early operations, SCAT relied on Soviet-era Antonov and Yakovlev aircraft, and later in the 2010s it started a gradual fleet renewal. Today, it operates a diverse fleet that includes one Boeing 737-300, three 737-500s, one 737-700, six 737 MAX 8s, eight 737-800s, five 737 MAX 9s, three 757-200s, and one 767-300ER. The fleet also includes two inactive CRJ200ERs and two CRJ200LRs.
Notably, SCAT was the first Central Asian airline to introduce the Boeing 737 MAX. During the 2017 Dubai Airshow, the airline placed an order for six MAX8s (valued at $674 million), with purchase rights for five additional aircraft. It took the delivery of its first MAX 8 in March the following year, and since then, the 737 MAX family has become central to SCAT’s operations. At the 2023 Dubai Airshow, the airline placed another order for seven additional MAX 8s and one MAX 9, which are yet to be delivered.
