CaptainChris
V.I.P.-Class-Member
- Εγγραφή
- 29/07/2003
- Μηνύματα
- 1.033
- Likes
- 123
- Περιοχή
- Thessaloniki, Greece, EU
- Website
- www.captain-chris.com
- Αγαπημένη αεροπορική εταιρεία (ICAO Code)
- BAW
- Πλησιέστερο αεροδρόμιο (ICAO Code)
- LGTS
Foreign airlines must either switch flights to Kazakhstan's new capital Astana from the old one at Almaty or quit the fast-growing country altogether, a senior Kazakh civil aviation official said on Friday.
The government said earlier this week it expected all foreign airlines still flying to scenic Almaty, in the Central Asian state's southeast, to switch by September to Astana, a wind-swept Soviet-era city some 1,000 km (620 miles) to the north.
"They (airlines) have no strong arguments. They are merely unwilling to leave Almaty," a senior official from Kazakhstan's Civil Aviation Committee, who requested anonymity, said.
"If they leave (Kazakhstan), they will lose their profits. Kazakhstan is rapidly developing and we are very attractive for them."
Almaty is the commercial hub and with a population of 1.2 million has more than double the number of residents of Astana, which became the capital in 1997.
An association of Kazakh tourist companies said the order to switch routes to Astana would hit their nascent industry, and foreign airlines would leave the local market and move routes to neighboring Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan.
The aviation committee official said the Kazakh government was in talks with foreign civil aviation authorities to reword flight agreements to make Astana the new official destination.
"Airline officials, representatives of four nations -- Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands and Turkey -- are present (at the talks)," she said.
The main foreign airlines serving Almaty are Air France KLM, Lufthansa, British Airways, Turkish Airlines and Russia's Transaero.
A spokesman for KLM said the carrier had not yet officially been informed about the ultimatum over moving to Almaty.
BA flies to Almaty using franchise partner British Mediterranean. A senior official at British Mediterranean said the airline was in talks with UK government officials about the issue, which will require government-to-government agreement.
A spokesman for Russia's Transaero said it has flights to both Astana and Almaty and has no problem with the civil aviation committee's view on the matter.
Industry sources said European airlines were not happy with the change, also citing the new capital's distance from the country's main oil and gas sites as another potential negative.
"Almaty is where everybody goes because that's where the business is," one airline official said. "Routing through Astana on the way there and back is not really something we want to do."
(Reuters)
The government said earlier this week it expected all foreign airlines still flying to scenic Almaty, in the Central Asian state's southeast, to switch by September to Astana, a wind-swept Soviet-era city some 1,000 km (620 miles) to the north.
"They (airlines) have no strong arguments. They are merely unwilling to leave Almaty," a senior official from Kazakhstan's Civil Aviation Committee, who requested anonymity, said.
"If they leave (Kazakhstan), they will lose their profits. Kazakhstan is rapidly developing and we are very attractive for them."
Almaty is the commercial hub and with a population of 1.2 million has more than double the number of residents of Astana, which became the capital in 1997.
An association of Kazakh tourist companies said the order to switch routes to Astana would hit their nascent industry, and foreign airlines would leave the local market and move routes to neighboring Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Azerbaijan.
The aviation committee official said the Kazakh government was in talks with foreign civil aviation authorities to reword flight agreements to make Astana the new official destination.
"Airline officials, representatives of four nations -- Germany, Great Britain, the Netherlands and Turkey -- are present (at the talks)," she said.
The main foreign airlines serving Almaty are Air France KLM, Lufthansa, British Airways, Turkish Airlines and Russia's Transaero.
A spokesman for KLM said the carrier had not yet officially been informed about the ultimatum over moving to Almaty.
BA flies to Almaty using franchise partner British Mediterranean. A senior official at British Mediterranean said the airline was in talks with UK government officials about the issue, which will require government-to-government agreement.
A spokesman for Russia's Transaero said it has flights to both Astana and Almaty and has no problem with the civil aviation committee's view on the matter.
Industry sources said European airlines were not happy with the change, also citing the new capital's distance from the country's main oil and gas sites as another potential negative.
"Almaty is where everybody goes because that's where the business is," one airline official said. "Routing through Astana on the way there and back is not really something we want to do."
(Reuters)
" να προλάβουν να κλείσουν καμμιά δουλίτσα σε αυτό τον οικονομικό / οικοδομικό, κλπ οργασμό, και οι δικοί μας εκπρόσωποι να κοιμούνται τον ύπνο του δικαίου!