After being suspended for more than two years, Air Astana will resume flights from Almaty to Beijing on November 22nd, with the service initially operated once a week using Airbus A321LR aircraft. The airline currently serves the China market with twice-weekly services from Almaty to Chengdu.

Two decades with Beijing

Air Astana flight KC 887 will depart from Almaty International Airport at approximately 01:35 and arrive at Beijing Capital International Airport at around 08:30. The returning flight, KC 888 from Beijing, will take-off at 11:30 and arrive back in Almaty at 14:45. With the use of the Airbus A321LR, Air Astana will be offering approximately 166 seats to Beijing every week.

Restarting flights to Beijing also marks the 20th year Air Astana provides flight services to the Chinese capital. The Almaty-based carrier first launched flights to Beijing in 2002 but was forced to suspend the popular route in March 2020 due to the pandemic. During the 18 years before the suspension, more than 1.1 million passengers and 10 million tons of cargo were transported on the route.

The route used to be operated on a twice-weekly schedule on the airline's Boeing 757 before it was upgraded to daily on the airline's Airbus A320. Then in 2018, the route received new equipment with the Airbus A321, and now the A321LR. Perhaps when market conditions and demand improve, Air Astana might upgrade the current frequency to daily instead of the current once-weekly flights.

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Things to note when traveling to Beijing

All passengers traveling to Beijing must remember that they must undergo a 10-day quarantine upon arrival in the Chinese capital city. Additionally, passengers traveling from Kazakhstan, including transit passengers, must obtain a health code issued by the Chinese Embassy in Kazakhstan or from the Chinese Consulate General in Almaty.

The health code will be green and must be presented to Air Astana's employees during check-in. Passengers are advised to apply for the health code as soon as possible to allow sufficient time for the application process. And within 48 hours before departure, passengers must also pass two PCR tests from two different clinics or laboratories.

The interval between the two PCR tests should be at least 24 hours apart, and the countdown starts when the test is conducted. Passengers must be mindful of submitting the second PCR test 24 before departure. If passengers have been infected before, they must present negative PCR results at least 14 days before departure.

Bottom line

The resumption of flight services to Beijing comes as Air Astana is gradually restoring its international route network to pre-pandemic levels. Using the Airbus A321LR is also a strategic move for the airline as it offers the same capacity in the same two-class configuration as the Boeing 757 previously used.

And besides Beijing, Air Astana has also restarted flight services between Almaty and Bangkok on October 30th, using the Airbus A321LR. Flights between Almaty and Medina will also be resumed in January 2023. With 27 international routes planned for its winter flight schedule, it seems the airline is indeed on-track to restoring its route network.

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• 

  Airbus

  Stock Code:

  AIR

  Date Founded:

  1970-12-18

  CEO:

  Guillaume Faury

  Headquarters Location:

  Toulouse, France

  Key Product Lines:

  Airbus A220, Airbus A320, Airbus A330, Airbus A340, Airbus A350, Airbus A380

  Business Type:

  Planemaker

• 

  Beijing Capital Airport

  IATA/ICAO Code:

  PEK/ZBAA

  Country:

  China

  Passenger Count :

  32,639,013 (2021)

  Runways :

  18L/36R - 3,810m (12,500ft) | 18R/36L - 3,445m (11,302ft) | 01/19 - 3,810m (12,500ft)

  Terminals:

  Terminal 1 | Terminal 2 | Terminal 3

  Airlines:

  Air China