In his annual Address to the People of Kazakhstan on 28 October 2026, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev addressed the national cargo carrier. He said great hopes are placed on the private company Air Cargo, but there are no decisions or results yet. "You have been given trust, and we expect concrete results," the president said. According to him, the company has large funding potential, the ability to pay leading foreign specialists and to take decisions independently.
Which company
This is Alatau Air Cargo. The company was created in October 2025 as KTZ Air Cargo, a subsidiary of KTZ Express (Kazakhstan Temir Zholy), and on 10 June 2026, according to eGov data cited in publications, took its current name. In March 2026 a structure of Timur Turlov bought a controlling stake: by the same data, 50.98% belongs to Turlov Private Holding and 49.02% remains with KTZ Express. Blair Pollock has been chief executive since 17 August 2026. According to publications, the company plans transit cargo flights from China and Southeast Asia to Europe and back via Kazakhstan, and charter flights on shippers' requests.
Context of the speech
Tokayev spoke about the country's transit potential. He noted that air corridors between Europe and Asia give Kazakhstan a competitive advantage, but for now, in his words, it exists mostly in presentations. Realising it, the president said, requires developed ground service infrastructure. He also called for full digitalisation of the transport sector, including international routes, and described managing transit flows on paper waybills as "the shortest path to nowhere".
What the Transport Ministry said
At a government meeting on 29 October, Deputy Transport Minister Talgat Lastayev said the national cargo carrier Air Cargo has signed a contract for the supply of aircraft. The first Airbus A340 is expected in November 2026, the second in March, and in the longer term the total fleet will reach ten aircraft. The government's statement does not specify the year for the second aircraft; from context it means March 2027.
Lastayev also described other plans for air transit. Over the next three years, modernisation of airport infrastructure is planned, including runways and terminals, along with development of refuelling complexes and cargo terminals. Modernisation of the air navigation system has begun. Within the wider transport block he noted that Kazakhstan has 46 logistics centres, with 21 more planned by 2030.
What came before
In May 2026 Prime Minister Olzhas Bektenov said the first cargo aircraft of the national carrier should be delivered to Kazakhstan in October. The date for the first aircraft named by the Transport Ministry on 29 October is November.
What has not been announced
The counterparty and terms of the contract (purchase, lease, wet lease), the A340 version and condition (passenger, converted or freighter), tail numbers, certification timelines and the air operator certificate, home base, routes and the date of the first commercial flight have not been named. The types and deliveries of the other eight aircraft are not disclosed: from Lastayev's words, the A340 is named for the first two aircraft, not the entire ten-aircraft fleet. The president did not name indicators, amounts or deadlines for assessing results. We found no separate confirmation of the contract from the company itself.
Our assessment: the president's words and the Transport Ministry's data do not contradict each other but speak about different things. The president assesses results, while the ministry names inputs: a signed contract and the expected arrival of an aircraft. For a private company with a state-structure stake this matters: the state's expectations are high, while public reporting on the project's progress is limited. A signed contract and delivery in November are not the same as launching a cargo carrier: after delivery, certification, a base, ground handling and commercial contracts are needed. Compared with the prime minister's May statement, the delivery date of the first aircraft has moved from October to November. We do not claim that delivery is a response to the criticism: no causal link has been established. This is flycentralasia's conclusion, not a statement by the government or the company.
What businesses can do. Maintenance companies and lessors should find out which delivery scheme has been chosen and what work is needed to bring the A340 into service. Cargo terminals, handling companies and fuel suppliers in Kazakhstan should discuss volumes and terms with the carrier and airports in advance. Forwarders and shippers should not build logistics on the company's flights until the certificate, base and schedule are announced.