Kazakhstan and Switzerland have signed a memorandum of understanding that paves the way for the first scheduled nonstop passenger flights between the countries.
The move follows negotiations in Astana, Kazakhstan, and allows designated airlines to operate up to 28 passenger flights per week. The agreement also permits cargo services without restrictions on frequency or capacity.
The two sides additionally initialed a draft air services agreement, which will establish an updated legal framework once formally signed. No airline has committed to launching a route, although Swiss representatives said regular flights to Kazakhstan are under consideration.
The negotiations included Air Astana, SCAT Airlines, Swiss and EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg.
Sabre Market Intelligence data shows the strongest local opportunity would be between Zurich and Almaty, Kazakhstan. An estimated 6,403 O&D passengers traveled between the cities in 2025, an increase of 52% from about 4,212 a year earlier.
Almaty-Geneva was the second-largest city pair, with approximately 5,551 passengers, followed by Astana-Geneva with 4,682 and Astana-Zurich with 4,561. Traffic on the latter two city pairs increased by 42.4% and 34.9%, respectively.
Across the wider country pair, O&D traffic rose 38.9% to an estimated 26,735 two-way passengers in 2025, compared with 19,245 in 2024. Switzerland was Kazakhstan’s sixth-largest Western European market.
However, the local market remains relatively small in absolute terms. Total traffic equates to about 257 passengers per week in each direction across all Kazakhstan-Switzerland city pairs.
OAG Schedules Analyser data shows that Kazakhstan’s nonstop Western European connectivity remains heavily concentrated on Germany, led by Air Astana and Lufthansa services linking Almaty and Astana with Frankfurt. Air Astana also operates between Almaty and London Heathrow, while SCAT serves Munich from Shymkent, Kazakhstan, and Neos offers limited Almaty-Milan Malpensa service.
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