Urumqi Airlines and Kazakhstan’s transport authorities have discussed creating a joint regional carrier in Kazakhstan that would operate COMAC C909 aircraft, as Beijing and Astana deepen aviation ties. The talks also covered new scheduled services on the Urumqi-Karaganda, Yining-Astana and Yining-Almaty routes, while Kazakhstan urged the airline to consider Ust-Kamenogorsk and Semey.
The discussion took place during a meeting between Kazakhstan’s Vice Minister of Transport Talgat Lastaev and Urumqi Airlines vice-president Zhang Liang. The joint-carrier concept remains at the discussion stage, with no decision reported on launch timing, ownership structure or fleet size.
The proposal comes as Kazakhstan and Chinese carriers expand cross-border connectivity and assess wider regional links in the country’s east and north-east. Longer-term options mentioned in the talks include services to the planned airports in Zaysan and Katon-Karagay, which would extend the network into smaller regional markets. A separate route-planning item has also surfaced around possible Astana-Yining flights from September with two to three weekly frequencies.