Tag Archives: Kazakhastan

Air Astana will be launching new services from Atyrau in western Kazakhstan to Dubai on 26th October 2024, as well as from Astana to Abu Dhabi on 30th October 2024 and from Almaty to Abu Dhabi on 12th December 2024. Each of the services will be operated twice a week using Airbus A321neo and Airbus A321LR aircraft. These new winter season services to the Middle East will add to the existing 20 services a week from Almaty and Astana to Dubai and six services a week from Almaty and Shymkent to Saudi Arabia. “Air Astana is delighted to further boost its presence in the Middle East, with new services to Dubai and Abu Dhabi reflecting the rapid growth in business and leisure traffic between Kazakhstan and the region. In particular, the introduction of a new Atyrau to Dubai service will contribute to wider economic development in western Kazakhstan by enhancing connectivity with important business and tourist centres in the Gulf,” said Yerbolat Baisalykov, Senior Vice-President of Revenue Management and Commercial Planning, Air Astana. “Passengers will also have the opportunity to combine visits to Abu Dhabi and Dubai on one trip, with the possibility of flying from Kazakhstan to one Emirate and returning from the other.” The service from Atyrau to Dubai will operate twice weekly on Mondays and Saturdays, with a flight time of 4 hours; the service from Astana to Abu Dhabi twice a week on Wednesdays and Saturdays, with a flight time of 5 hours 1o minutes and the service from Almaty to Abu Dhabi twice a week on Thursdays and Sundays, with a flight times of 4 hours 55 minutes. The cost for round-trip Economy class tickets …

Effective until 29 February 2024, the five-month stimulus visa scheme is aimed to help reach this year’s tourism revenue target of 2.38 trillion Baht. The Royal Thai Government led by Prime Minister H.E. Mr. Srettha Thavisin has announced the temporary tourist visa exemption scheme to passport holders of the People’s Republic of China and Republic of Kazakhstan effective from 25 September 2023 to 29 February 2024, to achieve this year’s tourism revenue target of 2.38 trillion Baht. Chinese and Kazakhstani nationals will be granted a temporary visa exemption for a 30-day stay on tourism purpose in Thailand during the five-month visa exemption period.

Air Astana launched in May 2002,with Dubai being amongst its earliest international destinations. Initial services from Almaty to Dubai started in August 2002 with twice weekly flights and followed with additional services from Nur-Sultan commencing in 2007. The number of passengers travelling on flights between Kazakhstan and Dubai has dramatically increased over the past 20 years, with less than 7,000 carried in 2002 and over 101,000 already carried during the first half of 2022. A similar jump can be observed in cargo volumes, with 54,000kg being uplifted in 2002 and reaching over 730,000kg during the first half of 2022. Flights to Dubai are currently operated by state-of-the-art Airbus A321LR aircraft, which are configured with 16 Business class seats and 150 Economy class seats. “The UAE offers a wide range of leisure attractions and business opportunities, with Dubai proving to be a very popular destination for Kazakhstan travelers over the past 20 years,” said Adel Dauletbek, Vice-President, Marketing and Sales, Air Astana. “Passenger traffic from Almaty and Nur-Sultan continues to grow strongly, and we plan to restore pre-pandemic frequencies from both cities later this year.” In the coming winter season, flight schedules to and from Dubai will be improved for passenger convenience, with departures from Almaty and Nur-Sultan in the morning and arrival at lunchtime, with the return departure from Dubai just after lunch and arrival back in Kazakhstan in the evening. Frequencies are scheduled to peak at 17 per week by the end of 2022, with ten services per week from Almaty and seven from Nur-Sultan. Kazakhstan has re-established a visa-free regime for citizens of 57 countries, including the UAE, for up to 30 days to enter-exit and stay. Passengers …