ASTANA –
Kazakhstan will scale up domestic and international air connectivity this year, with the Transport Ministry saying 42 flights are being operated today across the country to improve access to remote regions and bolster domestic tourism. Nine domestic flights are expected to be resumed, and 15 international routes are slated for launch or relaunch, Minister of Transport Nurlan Sauranbayev told a government session on January 27. (qazinform.com)
The international destinations named by the ministry include Vienna, Rome, Shanghai, Tokyo, Riyadh, Larnaca, Amman, Dammam, Kashgar, Delhi, Riga, Bishkek (from Shymkent), Warsaw, Urumqi (from Shymkent), and Abu Dhabi. (qazinform.com)
Special attention is given to improving service quality. To reduce queues, airports in Astana and Almaty have introduced the Q-gate system, which significantly shortens passenger handling time.
([qazinform.com](https://qazinform.com/news/kazakhstan-to-launch-and-resume-15-international-flights-e35751?utm_source=openai))
Kazakhstan’s push comes as the country extends an open-skies regime and modernizes airport infrastructure to position itself as a Central Asian hub linking Europe, the Middle East, and East Asia. The open-skies policy, in force through 2027 across a growing list of airports, removes frequency caps and grants fifth-freedom rights to foreign carriers on routes not served by Kazakh airlines-an incentive that has already broadened the map of direct flights. The regime is anchored in a 2023 decision by the Civil Aviation Committee to extend the so‑called “open skies” framework to the end of 2027 and progressively expand it beyond the initial group of international airports.
Domestic reach and tourism goals
Officials framed the immediate focus on domestic lift-“42 flights are being operated today across Kazakhstan”-as part of a broader effort to connect remote regions and feed the tourism economy. Alongside restoring nine domestic routes, the government continues to underwrite “socially significant” air links, a program that supported two dozen-plus routes in 2025 to ensure affordability and regularity to provincial centers and resort areas. ([qazinform.com](https://qazinform.com/news/kazakhstan-to-launch-and-resume-15-international-flights-e35751?utm_source=openai)) These routes are typically tendered and subsidized by the state to guarantee minimum service levels where commercial demand alone would not sustain regular flights.
Tourism has emerged as a policy priority. The ministry noted that investment into the sector surpassed 1.2 trillion tenge in 2025, while Kazakhstan climbed in the World Economic Forum’s Travel & Tourism Development Index, strengthening the case for improved internal mobility to spread visitor flows beyond the main cities. ([qazinform.com](https://qazinform.com/news/kazakhstans-tourism-sector-attracts-over-kzt-12trn-in-investments-b54050?utm_source=openai)) Domestic capacity additions are also intended to ease pressure on main corridors such as Astana-Almaty and support newer resort areas targeted in national tourism development plans.
International links and market signaling
The 15-city international list underscores a dual strategy: restore high-demand connections to Europe and the Gulf while deepening links with China, India, and Central Asia. It dovetails with earlier government signals that services to Tokyo and Rome were among priority long‑haul additions for 2026, even as a long-planned nonstop to New York was pushed to 2027. ([primeminister.kz](https://primeminister.kz/en/news/implementation-of-the-presidents-instructions-construction-of-new-railway-lines-to-be-completed-this-year-30987?utm_source=openai)) The mix of capitals, financial centers, and regional hubs is meant to reinforce Kazakhstan’s role as a transit state between major markets, in line with broader transport and logistics strategies.
The broader ramp-up follows a multi‑year expansion in air services: Kazakhstan added 22 international destinations in 2024 and has continued negotiating entry for additional foreign carriers under open skies, fostering competition on price and frequency. (astanatimes.com) Officials have simultaneously sought to coordinate with competition authorities to ensure that new capacity translates into lower fares and more choice on key trunk routes, rather than simply reinforcing existing market dominance.
Service and capacity upgrades at major hubs
The Q‑gate installations in Astana and Almaty are part of a national effort to reduce bottlenecks with biometrics‑enabled automated border control. Astana’s system processes travelers in roughly 15-20 seconds, a throughput gain that matters as volumes rise. ([astanatimes.com](https://astanatimes.com/2025/12/astana-airport-launches-automated-border-control-system-to-speed-up-passenger-clearance/?utm_source=openai)) The Transport Ministry has cast these upgrades as critical to meeting international security and facilitation standards while keeping waiting times within benchmarks set for the country’s largest hubs.
Infrastructure has been scaled to match. Almaty opened a new international terminal in 2024, lifting the airport’s combined capacity-once the modernized domestic terminal reopens-to around 14 million passengers annually. Astana’s airport handled more than 8.3 million passengers in 2024 and reported a further 13% year‑on‑year increase to 7.8 million for the first ten months of 2025, reflecting sustained demand on both domestic and international routes. (en.tengrinews.kz)
Operational adjustments are ongoing as facilities are upgraded. During reconstruction in Almaty, for instance, Air Astana temporarily shifted domestic check‑in to Terminal T2 while maintaining security screening and boarding in T1-a measure coordinated with airport operators to keep traffic flowing during peak periods. (astanatimes.com) Authorities say similar phased approaches will be used at other airports brought into the open‑skies network, to avoid disruption as infrastructure is modernized.
Policy backdrop and carrier capacity
Kazakhstan’s open‑skies regime-extended through 2027 and now in effect at 15 airports-remains the legal bedrock for the aviation expansion. It eliminates frequency limits and grants fifth‑freedom rights at designated airports, encouraging new entrants and additional city pairs. The framework is set out in an order of the Civil Aviation Committee of the Ministry of Transport, which extended the regime for five years and details how foreign airlines may exercise the “freedom of air” rights at participating airports. The Transport Ministry later broadened the rules so that foreign carriers can use fifth‑freedom rights at several major airports even on routes where Kazakh airlines are present, further opening the market to competition.
Officials have paired the policy with fleet‑growth targets and subsidies for thin routes to improve national cohesion and catalyze tourism. They describe aviation as a core enabler of the government’s broader regional‑hub ambitions, alongside rail and road corridors aimed at positioning Kazakhstan as a key connector between Europe and Asia.
As of January 27, the Transport Ministry states that 42 flights are operating across Kazakhstan, nine domestic services are slated for resumption, and plans are in place to launch or resume 15 international routes named above, with implementation tied to regulatory clearances and airline schedules. (qazinform.com) The ministry has indicated that subsequent phases of expansion will depend on carrier readiness, safety audits, and the continued application of the open‑skies regime at the country’s main gateways.
