New flights: Kazakhstanis will be able to travel to China more frequently
Tengrinews.kz - Kazakhstan and China are expanding their cooperation in civil aviation. Airlines from Kazakhstan will now be able to operate flights to the city of Yining (Kulja), and flights to Kashgar are also under discussion.
New routes
At a conference of the Working Group on Civil Aviation Cooperation under the "Central Asia - China" (C5+1) framework, aviation authorities from both countries held negotiations. The discussions focused on passenger and cargo flights as well as expanding the route network.
According to Kazakhstan’s Civil Aviation Committee, a memorandum of understanding was signed, allowing Kazakh airlines to launch flights to Yining. Talks are also underway about future flights to Kashgar.
Total number of flights between the countries
Starting in 2025, the number of permitted flights between Kazakhstan and China will increase to 124 per week, with the right to use the fifth freedom of the air.
Kazakh airline SCAT has already launched three new routes to China: Shymkent–Shanghai, Shymkent–Xi’an, and Shymkent–Urumqi. Since July 4, China Eastern Airlines has entered the Kazakh market with flights from Almaty to Guangzhou (three times a week).
On August 13, Kazakhstan also welcomed the arrival of China’s Comac S909 aircraft for the first time. The plane, produced by China’s aerospace manufacturer Comac, operated the Urumqi–Karaganda–Urumqi route.
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