Kazakh national carrier Air Astana to operate flights from Delhi

Kazakhstan's national carrier Air Astana will start operating direct flights between Astana and Delhi thrice a week from July 2, to complement the already existing daily flights between Delhi and Almaty.

A statement issued by the Embassy of Kazakhstan in New Delhi said, "Establishing these direct flights was carried out in accordance with the "Plan of the Nation - 100 Concrete Steps", to implement the "Five Institutional Reforms" proposed by the Head of State, Nursultan Nazarbayev."

The embassy statement further said, "Over the past two years, the flow of Indian citizens to the Republic of Kazakhstan has more than doubled, from 5,000 to almost 11,000 people. Over the same period, the number of visitors from Kazakhstan to India increased almost threefold, to 18,000 in 2016. These direct flights between our capitals, coupled with the existing success of the flights between Almaty and Delhi, will significantly contribute ... to the increase the number of foreign visitors to EXPO 2017. It shall also make proper use of the economic and investment potential of business representatives and tourists from India."

"The opening of these new international flights was preceded by a large joint project by Air Astana, the Civil Aviation Committee of the Ministry for Investments and Development of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the Indian aviation authorities, as well as the Kazakh Embassy in India," the statement added.

"The Astana-Delhi flight will serve the further development of Astana as a transit hub in the center of Eurasia, alongside the opening of a new terminal and the increased capacity of the airport," the statement concluded.