Kazakhstan, Japan set to launch direct flights

Kazakhstan is working on opening direct regular flight to Japan in 2019, according to the Civil Aviation Committee of Kazakhstan’s Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development.

The legal framework for operating regular flights between Kazakhstan and Japan has been created by the ministry in 2016, Trend reports via Kazinform.

"Airlines of Kazakhstan and Japan have the right to operate 14 regular flights per week from each side with no limits. The destinations of Kazakh air carriers are Tokyo, Osaka, Nagoya and for Japanese airlines are Astana, Almaty and Karaganda," reads a message from the Committee.

The Committee said that earlier the two countries didn’t have a legal framework for operating flights from Kazakhstan to Tokyo.

"Currently, work is underway with the relevant airlines for opening direct regular flights to Japan this year," said the message.

Twenty-one airlines operate in Kazakhstan, only four of which are really big enough to be called national carriers and compete in the Kazakh market of passenger air travel services.

Air Astana, SCAT, Bek Air and Qazaq Air are the leaders in the Kazakh skies, annually transporting thousands of people and thousands of tons of goods.