Kazakhstan Expands Air Travel With Three New Silk Road Routes

Kazakhstan is boosting regional tourism with the launch of three new international air routes starting December 1.

SCAT Airlines will begin operating flights from Turkistan to Bukhara, Urgench (Khiva), and Samarkand - iconic cities along the historic Great Silk Road, The Caspian Post reports via Kazakh media.

The flights will run three times a week, with one-way tickets priced at 40,000 tenge ($77). Officials say the new routes will help promote cultural tourism, strengthen transport links, and attract more international travelers to Central Asia’s heritage destinations.

Kazakhstan’s Tourism and Sports Ministry has also drafted a new unified Silk Road route that will connect major cities across the region, including Almaty, Shymkent, Turkistan, Tashkent, Samarkand, Bukhara, and Khiva. The first joint tour to Samarkand has already launched with Komapstour.

Looking ahead, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan plan to discuss a coordinated tourism promotion strategy next year, aiming to integrate and showcase the two countries’ rich travel potential.