Chicago, 30 October. United Airlines is considering Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan as destinations for new flights but cannot launch them yet because it does not fly over Russia, chief executive Scott Kirby said on the Cheeky Pint podcast, BES.media reports.
In 2026 both countries were visited by United’s senior vice-president for global network planning and alliances Patrick Quayle: the company is looking for destinations not yet served by US carriers. “Right now we can’t fly there because we can’t fly over Russia,” Kirby said, allowing that such flights may become possible in future. The shortest route from North America to Central Asia runs over the polar regions and Siberia — exactly the sky closed to US airlines since 2022.
In parallel, Kazakhstan’s Aviation Administration met in Astana with representatives of the US Transportation Security Administration (TSA) led by Eric Yatar, executive director for aviation and international policy, during ICAO Aviation Security Week 2026. For direct flights to the US, the departure airport must meet TSA requirements.
What it means: There is demand for direct links between the US and Central Asia, but for US airlines it is limited by Russia’s closed airspace and for Kazakh airlines by US security requirements.
Who benefits: Air Astana, which expects to launch direct flights to the US in 2027 and can fly over Russia, gains a head start over US competitors. Passengers so far have only connections via Europe, Turkey or the Middle East.
Background: Since 2022 Russia has closed its airspace to US and EU airlines in response to their sanctions, and the EU and US have closed theirs to Russian carriers. There are currently no direct scheduled flights between Kazakhstan and the US.
