BAKU, Azerbaijan, Apr.13
By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend:
Kazakhstan’s airline companies lost 235 billion tenge ($550.8 million) due to restrictions introduced to battle coronavirus spread, the forecast data said, Trend reports with reference to Kazakhstan’s Civil Aviation Committee.
The forecast data said that the number of passengers transported in Kazakhstan decreased by 70 percent over the period from March through April 2020.
The reduction and restriction of flights lead the local airlines losing 235 billion tenge ($550.8 million), airports 24.5 billion tenge ($57.4 million), Kazaeronavigatsiya 28 billion tenge ($65.6 million).
In order to prevent coronavirus spreading in Kazakhstan, the number of flights was reduced by 438 flights per week on international destinations on 97 routes, which makes up 99 percent of all international flights implemented. Additionally, all domestic flights have been cancelled and currently no regular air services operate in the country.
“Thus, If prior to March 22, 2020, 540 flights a week were operated on 45 domestic routes (77 flights a day), then following April 2, 2020, all domestic regular flights between the cities of Kazakhstan were suspended,” the report said.
On March 15, 2020, Kazakhstan’s President Kassym Jomart Tokayev signed a decree introducing an emergency state in Kazakhstan due to the coronavirus outbreak, which came in force from 08:00 (GMT +6) on March 16 and will last till 08:00 April 15, 2020.
On Apr. 10, 2020 Tokayev said that the emergency state period in Kazakhstan will be extended till the end of Apr. 2020.
Total number of confirmed coronavirus cases in Kazakhstan has reached 979. The first two cases of coronavirus infection were detected in Kazakhstan among those who arrived in Almaty city from Germany on March 13, 2020.
The outbreak of the coronavirus began in the Chinese city of Wuhan (an international transport hub), at a fish market in late December 2019. The number of people killed by the disease has surpassed 115,200. Over 1.8 million people have been confirmed as infected. Meanwhile, over 440,600 people have reportedly recovered.
The World Health Organization (WHO) declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11. Some sources claim the coronavirus outbreak started as early as November 2019.
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