China's Urumqi Airlines plans to launch regular flights on the Urumqi – Karaganda, Yining – Astana, and Yining – Almaty routes. This was announced at a meeting between Kazakhstan's Vice Minister of Transport Talgat Lastayev and the company's Vice President Zhang Liang, according to the press service of the Ministry of Transport of the republic.
The Kazakh side proposed considering the possibility of opening flights to the cities of Ust-Kamenogorsk and Semey, and in the future – to the new regional airports of Zaysan and Katon-Karagay.
Urumqi Airlines' fleet includes Chinese-made COMAC C909 aircraft. Lastayev suggested that Liang establish an airline in Kazakhstan for regional transportation using these aircraft. The parties expressed interest in continuing dialogue on the implementation of joint projects in aviation.
Urumqi Airlines was founded in 2014 and operates flights to 46 domestic destinations in China. The company owns 20 aircraft, including Boeing-737s. Previously, the carrier placed an order for 40 more Chinese COMAC C909s to expand its fleet.