Kazakhstan’s Flag Carrier Just Opened a Door to Tokyo

Air Astana will start flying between Almaty and Tokyo’s Narita airport on November 30, with tickets already on sale. The service runs twice a week on the Airbus A321LR, a long-range narrow-body that lets the airline serve a route this long without a wide-body jet.

Flight time is about 7 hours 30 minutes from Almaty to Tokyo and roughly 9 hours 25 minutes on the return. The flights will be codeshared with Japan Airlines, building on an existing partnership between the two carriers.

Air Astana describes Tokyo as its 22nd new route in 2026 and links the expansion to Kazakhstan’s ambition to become a regional hub between Europe and Asia. The Japan link also sits alongside a visa-friendly backdrop: Japanese citizens can visit Kazakhstan without a visa for up to 30 days.

For travelers, the new route opens a faster path between Central Asia and Japan, and a way to combine Japan with onward connections across Air Astana’s network. With only two flights a week, though, schedule flexibility will be limited, so booking early makes sense.

Sources: Trend News Agency, AeroRoutes