ALMA ATA, Nov. 17 (Xinhuanet) -- Air Astana, the biggest airline in Kazakhstan, said Thursday it had suspended flights to Turkey after a Turkish court ordered to detain all arriving Kazakh planesto ensure repayment of a Kazakh government debt.

    The Turkish court on Wednesday ordered the arrest of "all Kazakh planes arriving at Turkey airports or making transit landings there in a bid to cover the debt of some 8 million dollars incurred by Kazakhstan's National Bank to Turkish citizen Turgut Tirali," Air Astana said in a statement.

    Air Astana, 51 percent owned by the Kazakh government and 49 percent by Britain's BAE Systems, operates the Alma Ata-Istanbul flight jointly with Turkish Airlines.

    Air Astana said it had suspended Thursday's flight, originally scheduled for 0825 local time (0225 GMT), "until further notice. "

    "We now hope for a display of goodwill in a bid to avoid an international scandal," said Air Astana spokesman Azat Bekturov. "We ourselves are very puzzled." Enditem