Tashkent, 5 November, . Kazakhstan and China agreed to raise the number of permitted flights from 150 to 180 a week and to add Chengdu and Kashgar to the route network, the Ministry of Transport said.
The agreements were reached on 4 November at bilateral talks between the two countries’ aviation authorities within the China — Central Asia (C5+1) civil aviation working group conference in Tashkent. Kazakhstan’s delegation was led by Saltanat Tompiyeva, chair of the Civil Aviation Committee of the Ministry of Transport, and China was represented by Bai Wenli, deputy director general of the Civil Aviation Administration of China. The sides discussed an increase in the number of scheduled flights and a wider flight geography.
The increase is 30 flights a week, or 20% of the current limit. The ministry expects it to widen opportunities for airlines, make direct flights more accessible, create more convenient conditions for passengers and improve connecting traffic. When flights to Chengdu and Kashgar will start and which airlines will get them is not reported.
What it means: What has been agreed is a limit, not a timetable: 180 flights a week is a ceiling of permitted frequencies that airlines still have to claim, and there are no launch dates or carriers yet.
Who benefits: In the ministry’s view, airlines of both countries and passengers; growing passenger traffic and business and tourist exchanges create demand for new flights. The ministry named no carriers or fares.
Background: Frequencies are the maximum number of flights a week that the aviation authorities of two countries allow airlines under a bilateral agreement; a route cannot be opened without agreeing frequencies, even if a carrier has an aircraft. China — Central Asia (C5+1) is a format of cooperation between China and the five countries of the region. Chengdu is a large city in south-west China, and Kashgar is in the west, in Xinjiang.
