Almaty adds direct flights

Almaty is adding a new batch of nonstop international flights in 2026, with Warsaw confirmed for May 31 and Tokyo and Shenzhen planned later this year. (lot.com) (astanatimes.com) LOT Polish Airlines said its Warsaw–Almaty route will start on May 31, 2026. The airline said it will fly four times a week in summer and three times a week in winter, while its booking page advertises service up to six times a week. (pressoffice.lot.com) (lot.com) Kazakhstan media reported that Almaty will also add regular flights to Warsaw in May, seasonal summer service to Cyprus in June, and expected new nonstop links to Tokyo and Shenzhen in 2026. Those reports said the new destinations are expected to operate at least twice a week. (astanatimes.com) (theasiatoday.org) The expansion comes as airlines add more China service from Kazakhstan’s largest city. Air Astana said its Guangzhou–Almaty route launched on March 31, 2025 with four weekly flights, and the carrier is already selling more China service from Kazakhstan in 2026. (airastana.com 1) (airastana.com 2) Traffic is rising across Kazakhstan’s aviation market. The Civil Aviation Administration of Kazakhstan said domestic airlines carried 14.3 million passengers in 2024, up 9 percent from 2023, and the national statistics bureau reported 13.1 million air passengers in January through October 2025, up 6.1 percent from a year earlier. (caa.gov.kz) (stat.gov.kz) Almaty is the country’s biggest city, with a population of about 2.35 million as of February 1, 2026, and it remains Kazakhstan’s main commercial gateway even after losing capital status to Astana. That gives airlines a larger base of business travelers, tourists and transfer passengers to fill longer international routes. (stat.gov.kz) (pressoffice.lot.com) The airport’s operator, TAV Almaty, is marketing the hub as a growing international gateway, and airline schedules now show a wider mix of Europe- and Asia-bound service than a year ago. Air Astana’s public timetable and sales pages also show the carrier pushing new nonstop options from Kazakhstan rather than routing travelers through third countries. (alaport.com) (airastana.com) Some details are still unsettled. Official airline pages clearly confirm the Warsaw launch date, but Tokyo and Shenzhen have so far been described in regional reporting as expected or planned 2026 routes rather than fully published schedules. (lot.com) (astanatimes.com) For travelers, the immediate change is simple: more nonstop options out of Almaty start arriving from late May, and the biggest test will be whether airlines turn these planned links into year-round service. (pressoffice.lot.com) (astanatimes.com)