The airline was founded in 1999 as a business jet operator, Berkut Air, and since started domestic scheduled services.

Bek Air has committed to investing KZT10 million (US$30,000) a month to reconstruct the airport's runway, which was in poor condition.

The AAK found that Bek Air pilots routinely neglected to perform a walk-around and inspect for airframe ice before take-off, and had skipped these procedures on the accident flight, in violation of operations manuals from both the aircraft manufacturer and the airline.

The AAK also found shortcomings in cargo hold fire-protection systems, life jackets, and emergency location beacons, and assessed the Bek Air fleet's condition as poor.

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