Turkey's flag carrier Turkish Airlines (THY) dispatched a special flight to Kazakhstan on Tuesday to evacuate its stranded staff and Turkish nationals after the country was rocked by nationwide protests, according to a source close to the airline.

The Boeing 777-type aircraft is returning to Turkey carrying 167 passengers, including Turkish Airlines staff, employees of private air cargo companies and Turkish nationals from Almaty, the country's largest city, added the source, who asked not to be named due to the sensitivity of the situation.

The aircraft headed back to Turkey after obtaining the necessary approvals from the Kazakh government and civil aviation authorities, he added.

The national flag carrier said last Thursday that all passenger service between the countries had been canceled until Sunday due to protests that brought the country to a halt.

Last week, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev declared a state of emergency in response to protests against the doubling of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) prices.

He later requested help from the Collective Security Treaty Organization, a Russian-led military bloc, which sent troops to quell the unrest.