Bek Air

Bek Air was a Kazakh airline headquartered in Oral.

Not to be confused with Bel Air.
Bek Air
Бек Эйр
IATA ICAO Callsign
Z9 BEK BEKAIR
Founded1999 (as Berkut Air)
Commenced operations1 September 2011
Ceased operations17 April 2020
Hubs
Focus citiesAlmaty
Fleet size8[1]
Destinations19[2]
HeadquartersOral, West Kazakhstan Province, Kazakhstan
Websitebekair.aero

History

The airline was founded in 1999 as a business jet operator, Berkut Air, and since started domestic scheduled services. In 2008, Bek Air purchased shares of stock in Oral Ak Zhol Airport, which is currently a base airport for the company. Bek Air has committed to investing KZT10 million (USD30,000) a month in order to reconstruct the airport's runway, which is in poor condition.

In 2011, the airline was rebranded as Bek Air.

On 27 December 2019, following the crash of Bek Air Flight 2100, the airline's operations were suspended until further notice by the Government of Kazakhstan.[3]

In late January of 2020, the Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan (AAK) revealed serious safety violations at the airline. The AAK found that Bek Air pilots routinely neglected to perform a walk-around and inspect for airframe ice before takeoff, and had skipped these procedures on the accident flight, in violation of operations manuals from both the aircraft manufacturer and the airline. Despite flying in a region with severe winters, the airline conducted no special training for winter operations. Bek Air mechanics often swapped parts between aircraft without keeping detailed records, and data plates had been removed from aircraft engines and other parts, hindering verification of service histories. Rolls-Royce, the manufacturer of the engines in the airline's Fokker 100 aircraft, had received no engine maintenance information from the airline. The AAK also found shortcomings in cargo hold fire protection systems, life jackets, and ELTs, and assessed the Bek Air fleet's condition as poor.[4]

On 17 April 2020, the AAK—citing the airline's failure to correct safety violations—recalled Bek Air's air operator's certificate and the airworthiness certificates of its remaining Fokker 100 aircraft, stating that the company must undergo full certification anew before conducting airline operations.[5]

Destinations

Bek Air's destinations included the following domestic airports:

 Kazakhstan

Fleet

Recent fleet
A Fokker 100 of Bek Air, seen in 2014.

As of January 2020, prior to ceasing operations, the Bek Air fleet consisted of the following aircraft:[7]

Bek Air fleet
Aircraft In service Orders Passengers Notes
B E Total
Fokker 100 8 — 9 100 109 1 aircraft crashed on 27 December 2019[8]
Irkut MC-21-300 — 10[9] TBA Deliveries were to begin in 2021. This aircraft was set to replace the Fokker 100s.[10]
Total: 8 10

Fleet development

Bek Air acquired its first Fokker 100 in 2012 after initially leasing aircraft from InvestAvia. In 2013, a second Fokker 100 was purchased from Mass Lease from the Netherlands and between 2014 and 2017, another 6 Fokker 100 aircraft were leased from Mass Lease. In 2019, 1 more Fokker 100 was bought from Air Panama. At the 2019 MAKS Air Show, at Zhukovsky International Airport, Moscow, Bek Air signed a letter of intent for 10 Irkut MC-21 aircraft. The delivery of the new aircraft was expected to be in the second half of 2021 and to replace the existing Fokker 100s.[11]

Former fleet

In the past, Bek Air operated a fleet of Yakovlev Yak-40, Tupolev Tu-154, BAC One-Eleven and Dassault Falcon 20 in an VIP-configuration.

Accidents and incidents

On 27 December 2019, a Fokker 100 operating as Bek Air Flight 2100, headed to Nur-Sultan, crashed shortly after takeoff from Almaty International Airport at 7:22 AM, killing twelve of the ninety-eight people on board.[12] The aircraft was unable to climb and crashed into a concrete wall and a vacant building. As a result, Bek Air's flight authorization after the accident was suspended by authorities.[13]

Media related to Bek Air at Wikimedia Commons

References
  1. "Bek Air — Бек Эйр". aviata.kz. Retrieved Dec 27, 2019.
  2. "Купить авиабилеты Бек Эйр, цены. Билеты на самолеты Bek Air, бронирование онлайн". www.chocotravel.com. Retrieved Dec 27, 2019.
  3. Kaminski-Morrow, David. "Bek Air grounded after fatal Fokker 100 accident at Almaty". FlightGlobal. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  4. Sadikhova, Nargiz (21 January 2020). "Kazakhstan's Aviation Administration Reveals Violations in Kazakh Bek Air Operations". en.trend.az. Baku, Azerbaijan: Trend News Agency. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  5. Sadikhova, Nargiz (17 April 2020). "Operations certificate of Kazakhstan's Bek Air recalled following plane crash". en.trend.az. Baku, Azerbaijan: Trend News Agency. Retrieved 23 April 2020. "Since Bek Air JSC failed to fulfill instructions to rectify violations issued by AAK and the Main Transport Prosecutor’s Office, the operator certificate of Bek Air JSC is recalled," the report said.
  6. "Bek Air. Новое направление полетов Алматы-Актау-Алматы". International Travel plus. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 26 March 2014.
  7. "Global Airline Guide 2019 (Part One)". Airliner World (October 2019): 18.
  8. "Deaths as plane crashes near Kazakhstan airport". Dec 27, 2019. Retrieved Dec 27, 2019 – via www.bbc.co.uk.
  9. "UAC goes "all in" and signs agreements for 20 MC-21s at MAKS". www.aerotime.aero. Retrieved Dec 27, 2019.
  10. "15 killed as Bek Air Fokker 100 crashes in Almaty". Airlinerwatch. Retrieved 30 December 2019.
  11. "MC-21 Scores New Orders". Airliner World. October 2019: 17.
  12. "Dozens survive Kazakhstan plane crash". BBC News. 2019-12-27. Archived from the original on 30 December 2019. Retrieved 2019-12-30.
  13. Kaminski-Morrow, David. "Bek Air grounded after fatal Fokker 100 accident at Almaty". Flight Global. Archived from the original on 27 December 2019. Retrieved 2019-12-28.
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