The official inauguration ceremony was attended by Vice Minister of Transport of the Republic of Kazakhstan Talgat Lastayev, President of SCAT Airlines Vladimir Denisov, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Serbia to Kazakhstan Vladimir Jovčić, and First Deputy Chairman of the Board of Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport Ruslan Pyshtanov.

The agreement to open the direct route was reached during the visit of President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev to Serbia. The implementation of this project was made possible with the support of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan and the Embassy of Kazakhstan in Serbia.

Upon the aircraft’s arrival in Belgrade, the Kazakh delegation was welcomed, on behalf of the President of Serbia Aleksandar Vučić, by Speaker of the National Assembly of Serbia Ana Brnabić and Deputy Minister of Transport Verica Ječmenica.

“The opening of direct air service between Astana and Belgrade marks an important step in strengthening ties between Kazakhstan and Serbia. The new route will create greater opportunities for business, tourism, and cultural cooperation between our peoples,” noted Talgat Lastayev in his remarks.

Kazakhstan and Serbia maintain a visa-free regime. The flight duration is 5 hours and 40 minutes. High passenger demand is expected for this route - the inaugural flight carried 92 passengers.

Flights on the Astana–Belgrade–Astana route will be operated twice a week (on Mondays and Thursdays) using modern Boeing 737 aircraft.

Currently, SCAT Airlines also operates flights to other European cities:

Astana – Prague: twice a week (Tuesdays, Saturdays)

Shymkent – Budapest: twice a week (Tuesdays, Thursdays)

Shymkent – Munich: twice a week (Tuesdays, Thursdays)