Kazakhstan: Authorities open airspace to additional foreign carriers starting November 1

Event

The Ministry of Industry and Infrastructural Development announced that as of Friday, November 1, its airspace would open to additional foreign carriers at the Nur Sultan (TSE), Almaty (ALA), Shymkent (CIT), Aktau (SCO), Sary-Arka (KGF), Ust-Kamenogorsk (UKK), Pavlodar Kokshetau (PWQ), Taraz (DMB), Petropavlovsk (PKC), and Semey (PLX) airports.

Under the new policy, foreign carriers will be authorized to operate direct flights and transit to Kazakhstan on routes not serviced by Kazakh airlines.

Fly Arystan Airline will fly direct routes between Nur Sultan and Moscow starting from Friday, December 13, and Ural Airlines is expected to start operating the Yekaterinburg and Almaty routes on Friday, December 22. Additional new international routes operated by Air Astana and SalamAir Airlines are expected to link Jeddah, Medina, and Muscat by 2020  . 

Advice

Individuals scheduled to or through Kazakhstan are advised to monitor development and contact the airlines for further information.