Air Astana launched new direct services from Astana to Larnaca, Cyprus, and Guangzhou, China on June 2, AeroTime reported on June 2.
Both Cypriot routes — from Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport (NQZ) in Astana and from Almaty, which launched on June 4 — are the only direct connections between Cyprus and Kazakhstan, and will operate twice weekly through September 2026 on Airbus A321LR aircraft configured with 16 business class and 150 economy seats.
The Astana–Larnaca flight time is five hours and 40 minutes, while the Almaty service takes six hours and five minutes. The inaugural service recorded a load factor of 83%.
The President of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides, was among the passengers on the first return rotation to Astana.
The new Astana–Guangzhou Baiyun International Airport (CAN) route joins an existing five-weekly service between Almaty and Guangzhou. The new service from the Kazakh capital will operate twice weekly, on Tuesdays and Thursdays, with a flight time of six hours and 45 minutes.
During the 2026 summer season, the Air Astana Group will raise frequencies on its existing routes to China, including services from Almaty to Urumqi, Guangzhou, Shanghai, Sanya and Yining, as well as from Astana to Beijing and Urumqi. The total number of weekly flights between Kazakhstan and China will reach 51, the highest level in the airline’s history.
Air Astana Group is the largest airline group in Central Asia and the Caucasus by revenue and fleet size, operating 63 aircraft across its two carriers: full-service Air Astana, launched in 2002, and low-cost carrier FlyArystan, established in 2019.
Air Astana’s connection between Kazakhstan and China dates to its first flight between Almaty and Beijing in December 2002.