ASTANA, Kazakhstan, May 17. China Southern Airlines will increase the number of flights to Kazakhstan, Trend reports, citing the Ministry of Transport of Kazakhstan.
Thus, from May 30, 2024, the airline will increase the number of flights on the Astana – Urumqi route from 2 to 3 flights per week.
The flights will be operated on Boeing 737 aircraft (capacity ranging from 128 to 178 seats).
Thus, from October 2023, the total number of flights between countries will increase from 27 to 43 flights per week.
Notably, since November 10, 2023, a mutual visa-free regime has been in effect between Kazakhstan and China, which facilitates unhindered travel between the two countries.
As the Ministry noted, more flights between Kazakhstan and China will boost tourism, cultural, investment, and business cooperation, increase competition in the international air transportation market, and lower air ticket prices.
Furthermore, the number of passengers transported by air in Kazakhstan amounted to 13.3 million from January through December 2023. This is 20.7 percent more than in the same period in 2022.
Concurrently, passenger turnover reached 25.9 billion p-km, up 28.8 percent from January–December 2022.