Kazakhstan increases the number of domestic flights. To date, aircrafts travel in 23 directions, and the network will only grow. Thus, it is planned to reduce the distance between remote areas and expand the geography of flights. This is one of the main reasons why flights are financed in the country. Recently, a new route – Almaty-Taraz – was added to the list of routes. Over five billion tenge was allocated to financing flights this year alone. The funds were allocated from the national budget and the National Fund. The airlines say the routes are popular among Kazakh residents.
“There are tourist routes: Almaty-Urdzhar, Nur-Sultan-Urdzhar, to Usharal as well. They are conducted for six months, from May to October. Even when we stop tourist flights, the ones that are just for six months, which stop flying in October, we often receive complaints from the population. They want us to keep flying all year round. The problem is that there is a very small flow of passenger due to the tourist season. And to do it all year round will be a big burden on the budget,” said Ruslan Shayakhin, Chief Expert, Kazakh Civil Aviation Committee.
Translation by Galiya Khassenkhanova
