Kazakh airlines carried more than 11 million passengers in 2022, having witnessed a 17 percent increase in passenger traffic compared to 2021, the Civil Aviation Committee reports. Over 22 million passengers were served at the country’s airports last year, including seven million passengers in the city of Almaty and six million in the capital. However, the Committee representatives observed a substantial decrease in transit passenger traffic. In 2022, their number was significantly lower compared to the pre-pandemic period.
“Transit passenger traffic is also growing. Last year, the figures did not reach pre-pandemic levels, the period when we used to have over a million transit passengers. Their number was about 200,000 in 2022. However, the sector sees growth potential given the opening of international flights. Previously, direct flights connected Kazakhstan and Turkey only through Istanbul. Now we are expanding the geography of flights. For example, new flights to Ankara and Bodrum were launched last year. Observing growth opportunities, we have extended the open skies regime for five more years,” said Talgat Lastayev, Chairperson of the Civil Aviation Committee of the Kazakh Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development.
According to Civil Aviation Committee Chair Talgat Lastayev, along with the growth of passenger traffic, the load on the country’s main airports, namely in Astana and Almaty, also increases. Hence, they have to be reconstructed like other airports in Kazakhstan. A new international terminal worth US$200 million is currently being built at the Almaty airport, whose construction is scheduled to be completed in June next year.
“A terminal at the Shymkent airport is planned to be reconstructed soon as well. Also, private funds were used to start the renovation of the Kyzylorda airport terminal. The reconstruction of the Kostanai airport terminal is expected to be carried out this year. There are also plans to rebuild the Astana International Airport runway. We aim to meet the growing demand for air travel by all these improvements,” Lastayev added.
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