The press service of the Civil Aviation Committee reported that transit flights through Astana to Luxembourg are set to triple, Kaztag.kz reports.
Kazakhstan and Luxembourg have signed a memorandum on regular air transportation, aiming to significantly increase the number of weekly transit flights through Astana. The 77th flight of Cargolux, a cargo airline, was welcomed at the Astana International Airport with a water salute.
The event was attended by Marat Karabayev, Minister of Industry and Infrastructure Development of Kazakhstan, Jean Asselborn, Minister of Foreign and European Affairs of Luxembourg, Talgat Lastayev, Chairman of the Civil Aviation Committee, and Ergazy Zholdasov, Chairman of the Board of JSC "Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport." The executives of Cargolux were also present, making their first official visit to Kazakhstan.
During the event, the heads of the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development of Kazakhstan and the Ministry of Foreign and European Affairs of Luxembourg signed a memorandum on air communication between the two countries.
Previously, there were charter flights, but now they have become regular. Under the signed memorandum, the number of flights from Luxembourg, which used to operate seven times a week, will increase to 21 times. This is a significant agreement. After France and Finland, Luxembourg is the third country with which we have signed the fifth level of openness within the "open skies" rules, said the head of the Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development of Kazakhstan during a media briefing.
According to the minister, this agreement opens up new opportunities for the aviation industry in Kazakhstan and positions the country as a key transit hub between Europe and Southeast Asia.
"The attraction of new transit flights also provides additional opportunities for the professional development of Kazakhstani aviators. Moreover, it presents new opportunities for entrepreneurs as well: goods that can find demand in the local market will be unloaded in Kazakhstan, while products will be loaded in Astana for transportation to European and Southeast Asian countries," the minister added.
Cargolux performed its first flight to Astana on May 1. Currently, the airline operates seven flights per week, connecting Luxembourg with cities in China and Japan through Astana Airport. As part of the intergovernmental agreement, there are plans to increase the frequency of regular cargo flights to 42 per week in both directions.
"We signed this memorandum today because we intend to increase the frequency of cargo flights passing through the capital's airport in Kazakhstan. In the future, we hope that this will lead to an increase in cargo volumes through Astana Airport, as we connect Europe and Asia," noted Richard Forson, President of Cargolux Airlines International S.A.
Cargolux Airlines International S.A. was founded in 1970 in Luxembourg. It is the largest cargo carrier in Europe, operating 30 Boeing 747 aircraft and serving over 50 destinations worldwide. The company employs over 2,500 staff members across its 75 offices. Cargolux is a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA).
Comments (0)