Air Astana will start scheduled flights on two new routes to Oman. According to Kazakhstan's Ministry of Transport, from 23 October aircraft will fly from Almaty to Salalah once a week on Fridays, and from 24 October from Astana to Salalah once a week on Saturdays. The flights will be operated on Airbus A320 aircraft.
Oman is currently served from Kazakhstan by Salam Air on the Almaty–Muscat route. With Air Astana's entry, the market gains Kazakhstan's national carrier and a second Omani destination. The ministry expects the new routes to support trade, economic, business and tourism cooperation between Kazakhstan and the Sultanate of Oman.
The step follows the air service arrangements between the two countries that we reported on 6 October.
Our assessment: two departure cities instead of one and a home carrier widen choice for passengers and make the market more interesting for tour operators. One flight a week from each city means limited capacity, so package programmes will have to be tied to specific departure days. This is flycentralasia's conclusion, not a statement by the ministry.
For tour operators and airports: check departure days against package-tour schedules and connections in advance.
Departure times, fares and the start of ticket sales were not stated. It is also not stated whether the flights will be year-round or seasonal.