A ceremony to lay the foundation stone for a Boeing aircraft maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO) hangar center was held in Shymkent, according to the press service of the Kazakh Ministry of Transport.
“The new complex will become the largest aircraft maintenance and repair facility in Central Asia and one of the most significant infrastructure projects in Kazakhstan’s aviation industry,” the ministry said.
The project involves the creation of a modern full-cycle production center focused on servicing Boeing aircraft, including the Boeing-737 (Classic/NG/MAX) and Boeing-757/767 families, as well as promising programs for Boeing-777 wide-body aircraft. In this regard, the purchase of additional Boeing aircraft is planned.
The complex will be located on an area of 10 hectares. The total area of the engineering and technical infrastructure will exceed 45,000 square meters, including an aircraft parking area of more than 6 hectares. It is planned to build at least 15 high-tech facilities.
“The implementation of the project will allow Kazakhstan to create a modern service base of international level, capable of attracting foreign airlines to service their aircraft, expanding industry competencies and creating new highly skilled jobs,” the press release said.
It is noted that the initiative to create the center was developed during President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev’s working visit to the United States, where, at a meeting with Boeing executives, the prospects for expanding strategic cooperation were discussed, including the implementation of a project to build a Boeing aircraft maintenance and repair center in Shymkent.
Earlier, Kazakh airline SCAT agreed with Boeing Co. to increase the number of Boeing 737 aircraft in its fleet to 15 by 2035: in September 2025, SCAT received its 11th Boeing 737 MAX8.
A few years ago, Kazakh airline Air Astana announced plans to start flying to the US once it got its hands on some Boeing 787 Dreamliners. In November 2025, Air Astana said it signed a deal with Boeing Co. to get up to 15 Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners. The airline expects to take delivery of four Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners in the fourth quarter of 2026.
A Boeing 737-800SF from the fleet of Supernova Airlines of the NOVA Group (Nova Poshta) has completed its first flight between European airports, the press service of the NOVA Group reports.
“On September 18, 2024, Supernova Airlines made the first flight on its own Boeing 737-800SF aircraft flying the flag of Ukraine, with Ukrainian registration marks UR-NPA. This was a certification flight, one of the final steps in the process of introducing the Boeing 737-800SF type to Supernova’s operator certificate by the State Aviation Administration of Ukraine,” the NOVA press service said.
The airline plans to start regular commercial operation of the aircraft in the winter season of 2024-2025.
Earlier, a Boeing 737-800 from Supernova’s fleet operated a maintenance flight from Guangzhou (China) to Vilnius (Lithuania) with a technical stop at Tashkent Airport.
The company clarified that the use of air transportation saves up to 36 hours on the delivery of parcels from (or to) Riga compared to trucks. It was also reported that Supernova Airlines plans to form a fleet in the future using cargo versions of modern aircraft manufactured by Boeing or Airbus.
Supernova Airlines has received a Ukrainian operator’s certificate, which allows it to start cargo flights on January 6, 2023.
Ukraine International Airlines (UIA, Kyiv) has received an official message from insurance companies about the termination of aircraft insurance for flights in Ukraine’s airspace.
“Due to the foreign policy situation, Ukraine International Airlines has received an official notification from insurance companies to terminate the insurance of aircraft for flights in the airspace of Ukraine. In this regard, UIA, at the request of lessors, sends five Boeing 737-800 aircraft to Spain while retaining other aircraft in the company’s fleet. In addition, two aircraft of the airline are sent for scheduled engine maintenance in Belgrade,” the airline said in the official statement on Monday.
UIA also reported that negotiations are underway with insurance companies, the Ministry of Infrastructure of Ukraine and the State Aviation Service. The airline hopes for mutual understanding.
Earlier, on February 13, a working meeting was held at the Ministry of Infrastructure with the participation of the leadership of the President’s Office, the State Aviation Service of Ukraine, the state-owned enterprise UkSATSE, Boryspil International Airport and Ukrainian airlines on the situation in the air transportation market. As a result of the meeting, a solution was worked out to prevent further aggravation of the situation.
As a source of Interfax-Ukraine notes, Azur Air Ukraine and Windrose were not present at the meeting and did not request assistance with the insurance situation.
Then, also on February 13, the Cabinet of Ministers decided to allocate UAH 16.6 billion from the state budget’s reserve fund to the Ministry of Infrastructure to ensure the safety of aircraft flights in the country’s airspace. The allocated funds cover insured events for at least 23 aircraft.
According to information available to Interfax-Ukraine, SkyUp airline has submitted seven Boeing 737-800 aircraft to the list, Bees Airline – four of the same aircraft. Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) has submitted a list of 12 aircraft: four Embraer ERJ 190-100, six Boeing 737-800 and two Boeing 737-900ER.
The Verkhovna Rada Budget Committee on the evening of February 13 agreed on the redistribution of UAH 16.6 billion of state budget expenditures by reducing expenditures under the public debt service budget program to finance an additional state mechanism for flight safety insurance in Ukraine.
SkyUp (Kyiv) added its 14th aircraft to its fleet, a medium-haul Boeing 737-800NG for 189 passengers.
The airline said on its website on Saturday, this is the eighth aircraft of this model in the SkyUp fleet.
The plane arrived in Kyiv in a branded livery, equipped with split winglets Split Scimitar.
Aircraft registration number is UR-SQP, manufacture year is 2006.
The new aircraft is ready for operation and will be scheduled as soon as all necessary permits have been received.
Ukraine has an experience of possible cooperation with the U.S. company Boeing, in particular, on the localization of their aircraft, Deputy Prime Minister for Strategic Industries Oleh Urusky said in an interview on Army FM radio.
“I do not exclude that during my visit to the United States we will contact Boeing with these proposals, in particular regarding the possible localization of the production of this company’s aircraft at our Antonov,” he said.
Urusky said that due to the coronavirus crisis, Boeing, like many companies, has significantly decreased the number of orders.
“Now everyone is looking for new markets and opportunities. We are setting ambitious goals for ourselves to develop our military aviation. I hope that cooperation with Boeing will be useful for us in this direction,” the deputy prime minister said.
He also said that in addition to the contract signed by the Defense Ministry with Antonov at the end of 2020 on the production of three An-178s, an order for four An-74s is being prepared in 2021. Urusky said that the delivery date for the first An-178 is 2023.
State-owned enterprise (SOE) 410 Civil Aviation Plant has started providing Boeing aircraft repair and maintenance services. “The company has already begun to develop services for the repair and maintenance of Boeing aircraft, conducting joint work on these aircraft with Concorde Aerotechnica,” the press service of the enterprise said on the website of 410 Civil Aviation Plant.
According to the press service, currently there are two Boeing 737-500 planes in the workshops of the aircraft repair plant, where maintenance and painting works are being carried out.
“Upon the completion of the training and certification phase of production, the company will be able to significantly expand its capabilities by independently performing maintenance work on modern aviation technology as a full player in the international market,” the enterprise said.
The 410 Civil Aviation Plant is the sole enterprise in Ukraine that repairs Antonov aircraft and D-36 engines. Since June 2015, the enterprise has been part of the Ukroboronprom State Concern. In July 2015, the enterprise was certified its compliance with NATO standards.
