Kazakhstan to Open New Flight Routes to 15 International Cities

Kazakhstan is set to launch 15 new international air routes this year, to be operated by both domestic airlines and newly entering foreign low-cost carriers. The announcement was made by Minister of Transport Marat Karabaev during a government session in the Senate, the upper house of Kazakhstan’s parliament.

“The new destinations include cities such as Munich, Budapest, Shanghai, Guangzhou, and others,” Karabaev stated. Most of these routes will be serviced by Kazakh airlines Air Astana and SCAT, The Caspian Post reports citing foreign media.

Karabaev also highlighted the entry of five new low-cost carriers from India, Thailand, and South Korea, following the implementation of Kazakhstan’s open skies regime.

The additional eleven destinations are Cairo, Da Nang, Abu Dhabi, Hurghada, Busan, Osh, Mumbai, Kulja, Rome, Gazipaşa, and Samarkand. The incoming low-cost carriers include SpiceJet (India), Thai AirAsia X (Thailand), Eastar Jet and T’Way Air (South Korea), and Air Arabia Abu Dhabi (UAE).

The open skies regime eliminates all restrictions on the number of flights operated by foreign carriers on international routes not served by domestic airlines. It currently applies to 15 airports across Kazakhstan: Astana, Almaty, Shymkent, Aktau, Aktobe, Karaganda, Ust-Kamenogorsk, Pavlodar, Kokshetau, Taraz, Petropavlovsk, Semey, Turkestan, Kostanay, and Uralsk. Introduced in 2022, the policy has been extended through the end of 2027.

Karabaev noted that the increased presence of low-cost airlines is fostering greater competition within the domestic aviation market.

He also addressed the development plans of VietJet Kazakhstan, formerly known as Qazaq Air. The airline, now under the ownership of Vietnam’s SOVICO Group, aims to expand its operations beyond Vietnam by launching additional routes between Kazakhstan and neighboring Russia.