Kazakhstan's FlyArystan-operated Airbus A320 lands at Xi'an Xianyang International Airport in Xi'an, Northwest China's Shaanxi Province, on July 1, 2026. Photo: Courtesy of FlyArystan

Kazakhstan's FlyArystan-operated Airbus A320 landed smoothly at Xi'an Xianyang International Airport in Northwest China's Shaanxi Province on Wednesday, marking the successful inaugural flight of the scheduled route between Kazakhstan's capital Almaty and Xi'an, the airline told the Global Times.

A Chinese industry analyst said the landing marks further expansion of flight frequencies between China and Central Asian countries, as cross-regional connectivity expands.

The route operates two round trips per week. Flight FS7866 departs Xi'an on Wednesdays and Saturdays, while flight FS7865 departs Almaty on Tuesdays and Fridays, according to FlyArystan.

This is the Kazakhstan airline company's fourth route to China, following its Astana-Urumqi, Almaty-Yining, and Aktau-Urumqi services. The launch of the new route marks a further expansion of the "Air Silk Road" between Xi'an and Kazakhstan, further shortening the time and space distance between Shaanxi and Central Asia, and building an air bridge for economic and trade cooperation, tourism, and cultural exchanges, said the company.

The launch of the new airline service marks a further expansion of flight frequencies between China and Central Asian countries, reflecting the continued growth in cross-regional connectivity, Guo Jia, a veteran market watcher, told the Global Times on Wednesday.

Since last year, China's international air routes have undergone significant structural changes. Passenger flights to Belt and Road countries now account for more than 70 percent of the total, said Guo. 

The industry analyst said that newly launched routes by major airlines are also increasingly focused on non-traditional markets. This shift is closely linked to the strengthening of trade and economic ties between China and Belt and Road countries, Guo said. 

China-Central Asia air connectivity has been expanding recently. On March 30, China Eastern Airlines launched a direct flight service between Shanghai and Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan.

Also in March, China Southern Airlines flight CZ8147, carrying 134 passengers, departed from Guangzhou, South China's Guangdong Province, and landed at Manas International Airport in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, marking the successful inaugural flight of the airline's direct Guangzhou-Bishkek passenger service.

In 2025, Air Astana, the major airline in Kazakhstan, transported over 250,000 passengers between Kazakhstan and China, a 96 percent increase compared with 2024, driven in part by the mutual visa-free travel policy introduced between the two countries in 2023, domestic news portal yicai.com reported.

Among the five Central Asian countries, China has already implemented visa-free arrangements with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Correspondingly, China-Kazakhstan and China-Uzbekistan routes account for the largest share of flights between China and Central Asia.