Garuda Indonesia might launch a new route to Kazakhstan to create more options for passengers. The move comes on the backdrop of a recent meeting between CEO of Garuda Indonesia, Irfan Setiaputra and Kazakhstan's Ambassador to Indonesia, Daniyar Sarekenov, to discuss launching flights between Jakarta Soekarno-Hatta International Airport (CGK) and Almaty International Airport (ALA).
The discussion during the meeting bordered on the possibility of utilizing one of its international airports as a transit hub for Garuda Indonesia. The Kazakhstan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs praised the prospect of strengthened transit between the two countries through the country's open sky policy, benefitting both the carrier and tour operators in Indonesia and Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan is set to use Air Astana's upcoming Almaty-Seoul-Denpasar stopover service to gauge popularity before examining the possibility of opening additional transit hubs or direct services between both countries.
With the closure of Russian airspace for many airlines, Kazakhstan's civil aviation authority (AAK) announced earlier this year that it would extend its open sky policy to carriers traveling between Asia and Europe. The policy removes restrictions on flight limits, giving airlines fifth freedom rights on international routes not run by any Kazakh-based operators.