ASTANA – Wizz Air will launch June 8 direct flights between Budapest and Astana , airline officials announced April 3.
“This became real thanks to many years of painstaking work by the governments of the two countries and it is timed to the 25th anniversary of establishing diplomatic relations between Kazakhstan and Hungary,” Nurbakh Rustemov, ambassador of Kazakhstan to Hungary said at an April 3 press conference, according to a social media post by Kazakhstan’s embassy in Hungary.
Officials said the flights will deepen bilateral relations between Kazakhstan and Hungary, including the development of Astana’s transport access on the eve of the EXPO 2017 exhibition.
Mihaly Varga, Minister of National Economy of Hungary, said the state considers Kazakhstan an important strategic partner and that the flights will foster a relationship between the two dynamically developing regions, Central and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, the post said.
Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air was appointed the official carrier with flights on Thursdays and Sundays. Tickets are available at wizzair.com. One-way tickets start at 40 euros, including a carry-on bag. Additional baggage is extra.
The new Kazakh – Hungary route is Wizz Air’s latest destination network expansion, according to Tamara Vallois, head of Communications at Wizz Air Hungary Ltd.
“The low cost of the airline’s tickets on the Astana-Budapest route establish a potential to encourage trade, business and tourism between the two countries. Budapest is also a natural connection point for Kazakhstan passengers who wish to explore alternative destinations with a very low rate,” Vallois said at a briefing in the Central Communications Service in Astana on April 3.
She believes the opening of the Astana-Budapest route is significant for Wizz Air.
“This is a debut of our airline company in Kazakhstan. This route also ensures the first low cost service with European Union for Kazakhstan by offering a total of 62 destinations from Budapest, which makes available more than four million passenger seats in 2017,” Vallois added, according to ortcom.kz.
