Kazakhstani airports report record number of passengers

More than 11 million passengers have gone through Kazakhstani airports this year, a 21.5% increase over 2023 / Collage by Kursiv.media, photo editor: Aruzhan Makhsotova

According to the Ministry of Transportation of Kazakhstan, the country’s airports served more than 11 million passengers in the first six months of 2024, a 21.5% increase over the same period last year. Authorities believe that the growth is due to the rise of more international destinations.

«The civil aviation sector of Kazakhstan has been growing rapidly so far this year. Passenger traffic has risen by 15% compared to last summer, reaching 6.8 million. Kazakhstani airports served 11.3 million passengers, a 21.5% increase over the same period last year. Moreover, the domestic aircraft fleet has been expanded by five new planes,» the ministry said.

As the ministry reported, the number of international routes has risen to 132 (33 countries) with a frequency of 760 flights per week. Among the new destinations are the U.K., Vietnam, Germany, Georgia, Egypt, Qatar, China, Malaysia, the UAE and Thailand.

Furthermore, the EU has lifted all restrictions on Kazakhstani carriers and embraced a new air corridor stretching from Europe to Southeast Asia via Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan (T-916).

«This has been the 19th flight since the route was launched. The T-916 air corridor is more than 2,000 kilometers long, with 1,700 kilometers of the route going over Kazakhstan and 437 kilometers over Uzbekistan,» the ministry said.

There are six airlines in Kazakhstan – Air Astana, FlyArystan, SCAT, Qazaq Air, Hi Sky and Zhetysu – which operate on 53 routes with a frequency of 640 flights per week. Kazakhstan’s government subsidizes 19 internal routes in nine regions — Turkestan, North Kazakhstan, Akmola, Abay, Zhetysu, Pavlodar, Zhambyl, East Kazakhstan and Ulytau – allocating an annual budget of $13.9 million for this purpose.

Over 11 months of 2023, Kazakhstani airlines carried 12.3 million passengers, a 23% increase compared to the previous year. At the same time, local airports reported a 25% surge in services rendered to their passengers with record-high figures of 9 million (+34%) and 7 million (+26%) in Almaty and Astana, respectively.

As Kursiv.media wrote earlier this year, Kazakhstan is ready to transfer its 22 airports to the private sector to allow them to be managed by investors from Europe. According to Minister Karabayev, the airports of Astana and Almaty are already being managed by foreign companies. Now, the government wants to do the same with airports in Aktobe, Turkestan and Kyzylorda.