The Air Astana Group (Air Astana and FlyArystan) is summarizing the results of the summer season, which became one of the largest in the history of the Group. During the peak period, the airlines operated 525 domestic flights per week across Kazakhstan (75 per day), 57 flights to the Caucasus and 49 flights to China.
“This past summer demonstrated strong demand for air travel. We delivered a record flight programme, significantly increasing flight frequencies and expanding our route network. The flexibility of our network allowed us to redeploy aircraft to meet strong customer demand in alternative markets, underscoring the countercyclical nature of our operations in this ‘New Normal’. With an on-time performance of 86%, a top-class performance, I would like to thank all operational and supporting teams for achieving this excellent outcome,” – said Ibrahim Сanliel, Chief Executive Officer of the Air Astana Group.
Key Results and Plans
Capacity to China increased by 81% compared with summer 2025, reaching 49 flights per week across seven destinations. New routes were launched from Almaty to Shanghai and Xi’an, from Astana to Guangzhou, and from Aktau to Urumqi.
Flights from Almaty to Guangzhou became daily as of 1 September 2026, while on 23 September FlyArystan will launch flights from Almaty to Chongqing twice a week.
Central Asia and the Caucasus: The frequency of flights between Almaty and Tashkent increased to three times daily for the first time. Flight frequencies to Georgia and Azerbaijan were also increased. FlyArystan launched new services to Samarkand, Issyk-Kul and Batumi.
Europe and Türkiye: The frequency of flights between Almaty and London increased to four per week, while Frankfurt was served with up to 11 flights per week from Almaty, Astana and Uralsk. The number of flights to Istanbul increased to 25 per week and to Bodrum to five per week. In addition to the seasonal service to Podgorica, a new route from Almaty to Larnaca, Cyprus, was launched and will operate through 4 October.
Asia: Flights to Delhi operate twice daily, while Mumbai is served three times a week. Flights to Nha Trang operate daily and to Da Nang five times a week. The Group also operates regular services to Thailand (12 flights per week) and South Korea (11 flights per week).
The Group’s on-time performance for the three summer months of 2026 reached 86%, which is 12.5 percentage points higher than during the same period last year. Compared with European carriers, the Group’s current on-time performance is 16% higher (for June–July 2026). By international standards, an on-time performance above 80% is considered a high level of operational efficiency.
