OREANDA-NEWS. September 09, 2014. Air Astana, the Skytrax 4 star award winning national carrier of Kazakhstan is scheduled to re-launch direct daily flights from Almaty to Dubai, the largest city of the United Arab Emirates on 1st September 2014.

The existing four days a week service from Astana to Abu Dhabi will also continue to operate, with both services to the UAE being performed by Airbus A320 family aircraft, which are the youngest in the airline’s fleet with an average age of less than two years.

Flights from Almaty to Dubai International Airport (DXB) will depart on 07:55 and arrive 10:30 at Terminal-1 and the return flight from Dubai to Almaty will depart at 11:25, 11,40 and 12.10. Economy class return fares start from USD 401 and business class return fares from USD 1,769 including all taxes.

Kazakhstan recently announced a visa waiver programme for tourists from 10 countries, including nationals of the UAE ,who can now enter Kazakhstan without any prior notification. Air Astana offers an online visa application facility for Kazakhstan tourists visiting the UAE.

"Air Astana previously operated direct flights between Almaty and Dubai from 2002 t0 2010 and we are delighted to re-launch this important connection between the major financial centers of Kazakhstan and the United Arab Emirates,” said Peter Foster, President, Air Astana. “The new service represents another important step in the airline's international network expansion, which will contribute to the development of economic, cultural and tourism ties."