Foreign ministry negotiates to restart air travel between Astana and Tokyo

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan is negotiating with its Japanese counterpart about the possible restart of regular direct flights between Astana and Tokyo, according to Aibek Smadiyarov, the ministry’s official spokesperson.

«We are interested in restarting these popular flights. I can’t provide any detail. The COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns have changed plans for many countries, so we need to negotiate either from scratch or from where our previous negotiations stopped,» he said during a media briefing.

The official noted that the ministry and its embassies are also negotiating about opening air travel to various old and new destinations.

For instance, Kazakhstani diplomats are engaged in negotiations with the U.S. about establishing direct flights from Kazakhstan to the U.S., including New York.

On March 25, direct air travel between Astana and Beijing is going to be restored, according to the Civil Aviation Committee of Kazakhstan. The Air Astana airline is going to fly to Beijing and back three times per week: on Monday, Wednesday and Saturday.