Chinese airlines are set to increase flights between Kazakhstan and China, QazMonitor reports citing the Civil Aviation Committee.
On November 21, 2023, Acting Chairman Timur Tlegenov held a meeting with representatives from Air China, China Southern Airlines, and Loong Air (all the airlines operate regular passenger flights to Kazakhstan).
During the meeting, a representative from China Southern Airlines announced plans to open new flights on the Almaty-Beijing route from January 23, 2024, with a frequency of three flights per week. If demand rises, the airline expressed readiness to consider increasing flights on existing routes from Almaty to Urumqi and Xi'an, as well as from Astana to Urumqi starting in the spring-summer season of 2024.
Meanwhile, Loong Air intends to increase the number of flights on the Almaty-Hangzhou route from three to four per week in December 2023. If passenger traffic continues to rise next year, the airline plans to further increase flights to seven per week. Additionally, the airline is exploring the possibility of opening new routes in 2024, including Astana-Hangzhou, Astana-Chengdu, and Almaty-Chengdu.
Air China is also contemplating an increase in flights from two to three per week on the Astana-Xi'an-Beijing route. Simultaneously, the airline is considering the option of adding a third direct flight per week between the two capitals, bypassing Xi'an.
Overall, during the spring-summer navigation period of 2024, Chinese airlines anticipate increasing the number of flights between the two countries to 30 per week, encompassing both existing and new routes.
