Air Astana Group continues to strengthen its position as a transit hub in Central Asia, having a 65% increase in international transit passenger traffic traveling via Kazakhstan in the first quarter of 2026 compared to the same period last year.
See Air Astana’s Reliability, Comfort and Environmental Rankings
Since the beginning of 2026, total transit traffic has exceeded 137,000 passengers, while international transit traffic has surpassed 48,000 passengers. The growth in transit flows has been driven by the development of the route network and re-allocation of capacity from the Middle East towards Seoul, Bangkok, Phuket, Phu Quoc, Male, Istanbul, Delhi, Tashkent and Tbilisi.
In 2026, the airline launched direct flights from Almaty to Shanghai, plans to introduce new routes from Astana to Guangzhou (China), Larnaca (Cyprus) and Dalaman (Turkey), and is also increasing frequencies on existing routes, including Seoul and a number of other international destinations.
About Air Astana Group
Air Astana Group is the largest airline group in Central Asia and the Caucasus regions by revenue and fleet size. The Group operates a fleet of 63 aircraft split between Air Astana, its full-service airline that operated its inaugural flight in 2002, and FlyArystan, its low-cost airline established in 2019. The Group provides scheduled, point-to-point and transit, short- haul and long-haul air travel and cargo on domestic, regional and international routes across Central Asia, the Caucasus, the Far East, the Gulf, India and Europe.
Air Astana has been recognised by SkyTrax as the Best Airline in Central Asia & CIS fourteen years running and received the Best Airline Staff Service in Central Asia & CIS award nine times in a row. FlyArystan has been recognised as the Best Low-Cost Carrier in Central Asia & CIS at the SkyTrax awards three times. Additionally, Air Astana was awarded a five-star rating in the major airline category by the Airline Passenger Experience Association (APEX).
The Company is listed on the Kazakhstan Stock Exchange, Astana International Exchange and London Stock Exchange.
