Kazakhstan plans to expand its international air route network to 160 destinations, with Europe, China, India, the United States, Türkiye and Russia identified as priority markets.

Kazakh Vice Minister of Transport Talgat Lastayev announced the plans on the sidelines of Aviation Security Week in Astana, highlighting the need to develop airport infrastructure, runways and the country’s aircraft fleet to support the expansion, Qazinform News Agency reports.

As an initial step, Kazakhstan aims to increase air connections with China to 30 cities and with India to 10 cities.

Lastayev emphasized the potential of the Indian market, noting that the country is relatively close to Kazakhstan and experiencing rapid growth. Kazakhstan also plans to increase flight frequencies to Türkiye and Russia.

In Europe, new routes are expected to be introduced gradually, with several new services planned each year.

Meanwhile, Kazakhstan is continuing preparations for launching direct flights to the United States. However, the timeline has been pushed back due to delays in the delivery of Air Astana’s first Boeing 787 Dreamliner.