Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan Eye New Direct Flights

Azerbaijan’s Ambassador to Kazakhstan Aghalar Atamoglanov has said that Azerbaijan and Kazakhstan are planning to launch new direct flights from several Kazakh cities to Baku.

The diplomat noted a sharp rise in mutual travel, driven by growing interest among Kazakh tourists in Azerbaijan, The Caspian Post reports via local media.

“In 2024, around 90,000 citizens of Kazakhstan visited Azerbaijan - a 49 per cent increase compared to 2023,” he said. In the first eight months of 2025, nearly 70,000 Kazakh nationals traveled to Azerbaijan.

Much of this growth has been supported by direct flights operated by AZAL, Air Astana, and FlyArystan on routes connecting Baku with Astana, Almaty, and Aktau.

Looking ahead, the sides are considering opening new routes such as Atyrau-Baku and Shymkent-Baku. Atamoglanov also said that during a recent visit to Aktobe, discussions were held with local authorities on launching Aktobe-Baku flights. “We are actively working in this direction,” he added.

The ambassador said that expanding direct air connections will strengthen people-to-people contacts, boost tourism, and widen cultural and educational exchanges, assisting to bring the two nations even closer.