Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) stopped direct regular flights between Kyiv and Almaty (Kazakhstan) on October 27, 2019, the airline’s press service has said.
“The decision to stop flights was made in connection with the unprofitability of the flight, caused by the need to bypass the territory of the Russian Federation. The ban on using the airspace of the Russian Federation for Ukrainian carriers led to a significant increase in the duration of the Kyiv-Almaty flight from five hours 20 minutes to six hours 35 minutes and, accordingly, additional costs, which it is not possible to cover even taking into account the effect of transit traffic,” the airline said.
At the same time, UIA maintains a code sharing agreement with Air Astana on routes to Nur-Sultan (formerly Astana) and Almaty. However, the company emphasizes that the schedule of code sharing flights between Kyiv and Almaty will allow retaining only part of transit capabilities, and the closure of its own flight violates the airline’s hub model and is a necessary measure designed to return the company to profitability.
“The decision is necessary and logical. It is connected with the difficulties in implementing the hub model that have been repeatedly voiced earlier. Losses exceeding $7 million do not allow us to continue operating a loss-making flight,” UIA President Yevhen Dykhne said.
In 2013-2019 UIA performed 2,120 flights on the Kyiv-Almaty-Kyiv route, carried 528,500 passengers and delivered 3,600 tonnes of cargo and mail, and also provided an additional transit flow of 380,000 passengers to Boryspil International Airport.
