ASTANA ( WNAM MONITORING): The open skies regime is now active at 15 airports of Kazakhstan in the cities of Astana, Almaty, Shymkent, Aktau, Aktobe, Karagandy, Oskemen, Pavlodar, Kokshetau, Taraz, Petropavl, Semei, Turkistan, Kostanai, and Oral.
According to the press statement released by the Civil Aviation Committee on Oct. 12, Minister of Transport Marat Karabayev has recently signed a document on the inclusion of Oral in this list.
This regime lifts all restrictions on flight numbers and grants foreign airlines the fifth freedom of the air. It allows foreign carriers to operate flights through Kazakh cities to destinations in third countries.
The inclusion of Oral is expected to attract new foreign carriers, boost competition among airlines, open international routes, reduce airfare costs, develop tourism, and improve transport access to the city. In response to local requests, flight schedules in Oral have also been shifted from night to daytime and evening hours.
Currently, Oral operates 32 weekly flights on five domestic destinations – Astana, Almaty, Turkistan, Atyrau, and Aktau – and one international route to Frankfurt.
