Kazakhstani airline to launch flights to Singapore

Photo: SCAT

Private Kazakhstani carrier SCAT Airlines has announced the launch of twice-weekly flights from its home hub in Shymkent to Singapore, starting October 20. It will become the first airline to operate flights between the two countries.

Flights on the 5,700 km route will be operated on narrowbody Boeing 737MAX 8 aircraft, with an intermediate stop in the Chinese resort city of Sanya.

According to Kazakhstan’s Civil Aviation Committee, SCAT will operate transit flights through China using fifth freedom air rights, allowing the airline to disembark and pick up passengers during the stopover in Sanya.

This route will be the longest in the carrier’s network. Currently, its longest scheduled flight operates from Shymkent to Seoul which is about 4,800 km.

For now, SCAT will be the sole operator on the route between Kazakhstan and Singapore. Flag carrier Air Astana has also planned to launch flights to the Southeast Asian hub, but only after receiving its long-haul Boeing 787-9 Dreamliners, with the first deliveries expected this autumn.