Air Astana BKK - ALA
 

Can anyone shed light on the reason that the Air Astana flights BKK ==> ALA (KC932 / 939) go so far west at the northern end, and to avoid what?


The north bound flight (ex-BKK) skirts the southern edge of the Himalayas and the Hindu Kush until just north of Kabul.
It then turns north over northern Afghanistan towards Dushanbe / Tashkent before swinging east again towards Bishkek and arriving at Almaty from the west.


The south bound flight does something similar but in reverse.


Possibilities that spring to mind would be :
1) Avoiding Chinese airspace
2) Turbulence over the mountains (though they still go over a heap of them)
3) Lack of alternates over the Tibetan Plateau / Taklimakan Desert


So the question is - in what way is travel over northern Afghanistan better than the above 3 options?

Interesting question. My guess is that, because these flights are operated by a 757, there are ETOPS regulations in play.

If you look at this map (admittedly only for ETOPS 60 - I'm sure most 757s will be ETOPS 120): Great Circle Mapper , you'll notice theres a black zone over Eastern China/Tibet.

Just a possibility - maybe others can shed more light on the matter?

Air Astana BKK - ALA & v/v
 

I suspect that you are on the right track
Maybe I should have said ....


3) Lack of "SUITABLE" alternates over the Tibetan Plateau / Taklimakan Desert


Getting a 757 onto a 6,000 ft dirt strip at 5,000M ASL with only one engine might be a bit tricky.
Not to mention getting it out again, accommodation, etc.


I'd still like to hear any other theories though.
I would even accept facts.

It might be down to emergency oxygen supply, size and duration of pax oxygen generators is a factor flying over the Himalayas.
Just a thought.:ok:

the reasons are:

Non-ETOPS flight.
Escape routes due the hight terrain near Kabul to Almaty...


....