The morning light shone over the snow capped Tianshan Mountains, and when the cabin broadcast sounded, the outline of the Xi'an city wall outside the porthole was gradually becoming clearer. Recently, FlyArystan, an Airbus A320, landed steadily at Xianyang Airport, and a brand new aerial ribbon brought the fireworks of Almaty into the wind of the ancient capital Chang'an.

New route landing

Recently, the Airbus A320 aircraft under FlyArystan Airlines in Kazakhstan successfully landed at Xi'an Xianyang Airport, marking the first flight of the regular passenger route from Almaty to Xi'an. This route operates twice a week in both directions, departing from Xi'an on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and returning from Almaty on Tuesdays and Fridays. This is the fourth route of the airline to China, which has previously opened multiple routes to and from Xinjiang and opened up the Shaanxi Harbin air passage.

Smooth Silk Road communication

The new route extends the Air Silk Road, bringing Shaanxi closer to Central Asia and facilitating trade, cultural and tourism exchanges between the two regions. Industry insiders analyze that this route is a new breakthrough in the expansion of China's Central Asian aviation capacity, reflecting the rising demand for regional personnel travel. In the past year, the layout of China's international routes has been significantly adjusted. The proportion of flights to countries along the the Belt and Road has exceeded 70%. The airline has continued to deepen its efforts in overseas emerging markets. Keywords: the Belt and Road news, direct flights, Kazakhstan

Recently, multiple direct flights from Central Asia have been opened, with China Eastern Airlines and China Southern Airlines respectively opening routes from Shanghai to Tashkent and Guangzhou to Bishkek. China Kazakhstan visa free exchange unleashes travel dividends, with Astana Airlines' passenger flow between China and Kazakhstan almost doubling year-on-year by 2025. At present, China and Kazakhstan and Ukraine implement mutual visa exemption, and the number of flights between the two countries ranks first among domestic to Central Asian routes.Editor/Gong Ziwei