Kazakhstan’s national cargo carrier to lease two A340P2Fs

Image: European Cargo

Kazakhstan’s newly created national freight airline, Alatau Air Cargo, is set to launch operations utilizing two four-engine Airbus A340 widebody aircraft, following comments made by Kazakhstan’s Vice Minister of Transport, Talgat Lastaev, during today’s government meeting.

According to Lastaev, the delivery of the first aircraft is scheduled for November 2026, with the second expected in March 2027. He added that the carrier ultimately plans to scale its fleet to 10 aircraft. According to information obtained by CentralAsia+Aero, the aircraft in question are A340-600s owned by the UK-based European Aviation Group (headed by Paul Stoddart, former owner of the Minardi Formula 1 team). The aircraft are being taken on a two-year operational lease as a temporary solution while the airline sources more suitable permanent freighters, presumably Boeing 767Fs.

The selection of such an unconventional freighter type by Alatau Air Cargo is likely driven by a tight global aircraft market, attractive lease terms, the start-up’s lack of sector experience, and political pressure to launch operations swiftly. The national cargo carrier was established on the directive of Kazakhstan’s President, who repeatedly stated this year that the airline must be operational before year-end.

The leased A340-600 freighters are highly specialized aircraft. The A340-600 variant is the longest passenger aircraft ever produced by Airbus (75.4 m), boasting a maximum range exceeding 14,500 km and a maximum payload capacity of up to 76 metric tons.

Unlike standard Passenger-to-Freighter (P2F) conversions—where all the internal areas are completely stripped to create a single main-deck cargo hold and a large main-deck cargo door is installed—these aircraft retain both their upper and lower decks and lack a traditional main cargo door. Consequently, they rely on a specialized loading and offloading system, making ground operations both labor-intensive and time-consuming.

Upper deck: The former passenger cabin is fitted with 39 specialized cargo modules designed to secure freight during flight. Available in six different sizes to accommodate varying payload volumes and weights, the upper deck offers a total volume of 237 m³ and a capacity of approximately 40 tons.

Lower deck: Accepts traditional unit load devices (ULDs) and pallets, providing approximately 175 m³ of cargo volume and a maximum weight capacity of 55 metric tons.

These specific aircraft were previously operated by European Cargo on long-haul routes between the UK and China, primarily moving e-commerce freight. However, surging fuel prices and high engine maintenance costs associated with the quad-engine platform ultimately led to the British airline entering administration in mid-2026.

The Kazakh national cargo carrier was originally registered in October 2025 as KTZ Air Cargo by state logistics entity KTZ Express, following presidential directives. In March 2026, private firm Turlov Private Holding acquired a 51% stake in the airline, leading to its rebranding as Alatau Air Cargo.

The rationale behind establishing the airline is to more effectively capitalize on Kazakhstan’s strategic geographic location, boosting the country’s transit cargo capabilities along the lucrative Asia–Europe trade lane.