Overview
- Cathay announced the plan at a June 2 ceremony during a Hong Kong delegation visit to Kazakhstan, where the airline confirmed the route will begin in the first quarter of 2027.
- The service is scheduled to operate three times a week using an Airbus A330-300 and will be the only direct air link between Hong Kong International Airport (HKG) and Almaty International Airport (ALA).
- Cathay frames the route as an extension of its westward push after last year’s Urumqi launch and says it is part of a wider Belt and Road connectivity strategy that targets people, cargo and capital flows.
- Kazakhstan is cited as Hong Kong’s largest trading partner in Central Asia and a growing tourist market, hosting the Asian Winter Games in 2029, which Cathay and officials say supports demand for the link.
- The announcement reinforces Hong Kong’s hub strategy—Cathay and HK Express currently serve nearly 600 weekly flights to 33 Belt and Road destinations—while schedules, ticketing and regulatory clearances remain to be published.