April 1–15. Central Asian Commercial Aviation News Brief
Construction of a new terminal building and airfield reconstruction have been completed at Talas regional airport in Kyrgyzstan. But the shortage of regional aircraft in the Central Asian country doesn’t allow to start operations there.
The airport is ready to get aircraft and passengers, MAM Holding, which manages Kyrgyzstan's airports, announced.
Talas airport is located at an altitude of 1,266 meters above sea level. The new air terminal is designed to serve up to 100 passengers per hour and airport is intended for domestic flights only. The runway is capable of handling such types of regional aircraft as An-2, An-26, An-28, Avro RJ-85, BAe-146, and Yak-40.
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Uzbek regional airline Silk Avia (part of Uzbekistan Airways group) announced plans to serve 10 destinations from Tashkent in the summer schedule: Bukhara, Termez, Fergana, Karshi, Urgench, Samarkand, Kokand, Zaamin, Navoi and Namangan.
The only flight outside the Uzbeki capital will be Nukus - Muynak.?
Also, the carrier promises to launch another new destination in the near future, without disclosing details.
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The Civil Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan has issued an air operator's certificate to the local low-cost carrier FlyArystan. In fact, the airline started operations back in 2019 but has been operating under the certificate of its parent Air Astana.
Air Astana emphasized that after obtaining a separate AOC, FlyArystan will remain a fully owned subsidiary of the group.
"This makes it the right time for FlyArystan to obtain its own operator certificate, reflecting the increased size and operational complexity of the airline. It provides the regulatory framework for FlyArystan to continue to grow while pursuing opportunities for international expansion," said Air Astana Group CEO Peter Foster.
FlyArystan carried 3.6 million passengers in 2023, becoming the third-largest airline in Kazakhstan by passenger volume after Air Astana and SCAT.
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In preparation for the launch of direct flights between Kazakhstan and the United States, the Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan (AAK) signed an agreement with the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to conduct a preliminary International Aviation Safety Assessment program (IASA).
The agreement outlines a collaborative approach to the IASA pre-assessment process, including information exchange, technical assistance and capacity-building activities.
When another country's air carrier flies into the U.S., or codeshares with a U.S. air carrier, they must meet safety standards set by the ICAO. Through the IASA program, the FAA focuses on a country's ability, not the ability of individual air carriers, to adhere to those international safety standards and recommended practices.
The preliminary assessment by IASA is aimed at obtaining FAA Category 1 status in the future, which will allow Kazakh airlines to launch direct flights between Kazakhstan and the United States.
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Uzbekistan Airways has entered into an Interline agreement with Jeju Air, South Korea’s largest low-cost carrier, enabling transit travel through Incheon International Airport (Seoul) to several destinations in Japan, China South Korea and Philippines.
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Silk Avia (part of Uzbekistan Airways group) is to perform its first Bukhara - Urgench flight on April 13th, which will be the airline’s 12th route. Starting May 4th, the route will be served on regular basis with weekly frequency.
The route will become regional carrier’s second (along with Nukus - Muynak), operated outside Tashkent. Silk Avia's other 10 routes connect Uzbek cities with the capital.
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Kazakhstan's cargo airline AlphaSky plans to expand its fleet this year with two Boeing 757-200Fs. The first aircraft of this type is expected to arrive in April, the carrier told Cargo Facts at the IATA World Cargo Symposium 2024 in Singapore in March.
In addition, the Kazakh airline hopes to get two Boeing 767-300F freighters, allowing it to launch scheduled operations between Kazakhstan and China.
AlphaSky has an office in Shymkent but is based at the neighboring Turkestan Airport (HSA). Currently, its fleet consists of a single Boeing 737-400F, which it acquired in the summer of 2023. According to flight tracking services, the airline's aircraft with registration number P4-JAG currently operates between the UAE and destinations in East Africa.
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Passenger traffic at Heydar Aliyev International Airport (Baku, GYD) continues to demonstrate significant growth. In January-March 2024, the airport of Azerbaijan's capital served more than 1.464 million people, a 38.2% growth year-on-year.
International passenger numbers rose by 43.5% year-on-year to 1.319 million. Foreign airlines served 656,000 passengers on international routes, while national carrier AZAL - 662,000.
Over 144,000 passengers have been carried on key domestic route Baku-Nakhchivan.
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FlyArystan, the largest low-cost carrier in Central Asia and the Caucasus region, gets the first of a total of six Airbus A320neos scheduled for delivery this year.
A brand-new aircraft, registered EI-KFA and named Vega (MSN 11988), is the 19th in the Kazakh airline's fleet. Like its other seven neo, the aircraft is powered by PW1127G GTF engines and is capable to carry 188 passengers in full-economy class configuration.
The fleet increase will allow the LCC to continue expanding its route network in Kazakhstan and beyond, as well as increase the frequency on existing flights, said Adrian Hamilton-Munns, president of FlyArystan.
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Kazakhstan’s airlines carried 3.275 million passengers during January-March this year, representing a prominent growth of 20.2% year-on-year, Bureau of National Statistics of the Agency for Strategic Planning and Reforms of the Republic of Kazakhstan revealed.
Revenue from passenger transportation increased by 9.2% and reached 176.042 billion tenge.
During the first quarter, aircraft delivered 5,800 tons of cargo and baggage (down 1.6% y-on-y). However, RTK grew by +5.7% to 13.3 million. Nevertheless, cargo revenue decreased by 0.9% to 3.265 billon tenge.
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Five months after the official transfer of Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport (Astana, NQZ) to the trust management of Terminals Holding (UAE), NQZ has approved a new Board of Directors.
Yerlan S. Absatov was elected Chairman of the Board of Directors of the capital airport. Yerlan is the CEO of CILT Institute of Logistics and Transportation. Among his previous positions is general director of the Union of Transport Workers of Kazakhstan KAZLOGISTICS. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan and Co-Chairman of the Kazakh-Lithuanian Business Council.
A new Board of Directors also includes: deputy chairman of the State Property and Privatization Committee of the Ministry of Finance Kairat Zh. Myrzakhmetov, chairman of Terminals Holding Mohamed Saif Obaid Alkayali, Terminals Holding group CEO Ahmed Mohamed Saeed Khalfan Al Hadabi, independent director Mohamed Al Buluki, independent director Almas A. Aidarov, and independent director Saltanat K. Aidarbekova.
Earlier this month, Yusuf Rashed Mohamed Aljavder was appointed chairman of the airport's board.
Terminals Holding is to create a long-term business plan for the development of NQZ.
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Kazakhstan's largest airline, Air Astana Group, has signed a memorandum of strategic partnership with the Italian airline Neos, which will help it enter the market of this European country.
The partnership includes a codeshare agreement under which Air Astana will apply a marketing code to Neos-operated flights between Milan Malpensa (MXP) and Almaty (ALA) and vice versa.
The Kazakh airline itself does not fly to Italy. Its European route network is currently limited to Amsterdam, Heraklion in Greece, London, Istanbul, and Frankfurt.
Furthermore, the parties will consider and evaluate the formation of a joint venture for routes between Italy and Kazakhstan, where regulatory, anti-trust and governmental authority permits.
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The aviation authorities of Kazakhstan and Armenia signed a MoU, authorizing airlines of the two countries the right to perform flights to designated destination in the territory of Armenia and Kazakhstan using the third, fourth and fifth "freedom of the air" rights without restrictions on the number of frequencies, capacity and types of aircraft.
In addition, the Kazakh side granted permission to Armenian Airlines to perform regular flights on the Yerevan - Ashgabat - Astana with commercial rights until the end of 2027 for the route, connecting Armenian and Kazakh capitals via capital of Turkmenistan.
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Over 200 aviation professionals from around the world met in Kazakhstan’s capital Astana on April 11 for 5th edition of International Central Asia Aviation Summit. This highly anticipated event has been the first time held in Kazakhstan.
The success of this conference series underscores the growing importance of civil aviation development in the region. The Astana-based summit was widely supported by both the government bodies and industry actors and will greatly benefit to the development of the airline business in the region. Besides the local participants, the event was attended by delegates representing other Central Asia / Caucasus counties: Armenia, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan.