Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan have agreed to increase the number of permitted weekly flights between Almaty and Tashkent to 60, Qazinform News Agency reports, citing Kazakhstan's Civil Aviation Committee. The agreement was reached during talks between Kazakh and Uzbek aviation officials on the sidelines of the China–Central Asia (C5+1) Civil Aviation Cooperation Working Group Conference in Tashkent.
Kazakhstan's delegation was headed by Saltanat Tompiyeva, Chairwoman of the Civil Aviation Committee under the Ministry of Transport, while the Uzbek delegation was led by Jamoliddin Nazarov, Head of the Air Transport Department at Uzbekistan's Ministry of Transport.
During the talks, the two sides discussed ways to expand air connectivity, increase the frequency of scheduled flights, and make air travel more accessible between major cities in Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The countries agreed to allow up to 60 flights per week on each of the Almaty–Tashkent and Astana–Tashkent routes.
They also agreed to increase the permitted number of weekly flights on other routes between the two countries from 14 to 20. The agreements are expected to provide more travel options on popular routes and help meet growing demand for air travel between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.
Rising passenger traffic, along with stronger business and tourism ties, continues to drive demand for flights and create new opportunities to improve transport connectivity between the two countries. Earlier, Qazinform reported Kazakhstan would modernize airport infrastructure under the 3-year plan through 2029.