Kazakhstan carriers see revenues grow 19% in January and February

In the first two months of 2017 Kazakh airlines carried cumulatively 911,000 passengers (Photo by Astana Airport)

Kazakhstan carriers saw their revenues increase 19% in January and February 2017 compared to the same period last year. It reached 34 billion tenge ($105 million). Share of airline business’s revenues in the entire passenger transport industry increased from 51.7% to 55%, according to the country’s Ministry of National Economy.

The improved financial results are a result of the 12% surge in traffic, which reached 911,000 passengers in the first two months of the year. The airlines’ income also increased due to a 9% fare increase. Profits from passenger transportation climbed 18% to 33 billion tenge, whereas profits generated by cargo transportation grew 3% to 24 million tenge.

Foreign airlines active on Kazakhstan’s market have also seen their financial results improve in the beginning of this year. In January and February their income from passenger transportation reached 111 million tenge, which is 2.5 times more than for the same period last year. Foreign carriers’ traffic in and out of the country exceeded 3 million passengers.

According to the Kazakhstan’s infrastructure development program called Nurly Zhol (The Light Way) sketched for the period between 2015 and 2019, the traffic through the country’s airports is expected to reach 14.1 million passengers, surpassing the previous year’s results by 17.5%. The share of municipalities provided with air connection should make at least 4% of the total number of municipalities in Kazakhstan, which stands at 175.

Kazakhstan’s carriers increased their traffic by just 1.7% year-on-year in 2016.