Baku, Azerbaijan, Jan. 8
By Rashid Shirinov – Trend:
Kazakhstan's airlines transported about 7.8 million passengers in 2018, which is 7 percent more than in 2017, Trend reports with reference to the Kazakh media.
"The number of passengers served at Kazakhstan's airports is steadily growing, which, according to preliminary estimates, amounted to more than 14 million people in 2018. The number of transit passengers in 2018 is expected to increase by more than 40 percent up to 900,000 people (620,000 transit passengers were transported in 2017)", Kazakhstan's Civil Aviation Committee informed.
Air Astana, the flag carrier of Kazakhstan, in turn, noted that the growth of passenger traffic in the domestic market in 2018 was low and lagged far behind the international traffic.
"The absence of such a large-scale event as Expo, which in 2017 contributed to a significant increase in passenger traffic in Kazakhstan, had a negative impact. The rise in fuel prices adversely affected airlines around the world," the company said.
As for the plans for 2019, Air Astana expects the development of the domestic market.
"We hope for an increase in the passenger traffic in the international and domestic traffic, which has been slow in the last two years. Also, lower prices for jet fuel would be a great support for airlines around the world, including us", the company noted.
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