Kazakhstan sees rapid growth in air transit

ASTANA. KAZINFORM – Civil aviation demonstrates steady growth in Kazakhstan, Marat Karabayev, Industry and Infrastructure Development Minister of the country, told the government meeting today, Kazinform correspondent reports.

«Last year, the domestic air companies carried 11 million passengers, up 17% than in 2021 (9.4mln). The upward trend continues this year,» said Karabayev.

According to the data presented by the ministry, the number of transported passengers grew by 38% and stood at 3.6 million people (2.6mln in 2022) in four months of 2023.

«Air transit is growing rapidly. In the current environment, Kazakhstan becomes more attractive in terms of transit flights. The number of transiting planes handled stood at 410 thousand in 2022, rising by 90% than in 2021 (215 thousand planes),» said Karabayev.

He went on to add that there was a 26% increase in the number of transiting planes in four months of 2023 – 119.7 thousand planes against 94.9 thousand in the same period of 2022.

In the minister’s words, Kazakhstan’s level of compliance to the aviation safety standards stands at 82%.

«It is the highest figure among the CIS countries, placing Kazakhstan on the same level with Denmark and Poland,» he said.

According to Karabayev, the share of airports in the country meeting the ICAO requirements stands at 94.7%.