Photo: pixabay.com
Kazakhstan ranks first in Central Asia in terms of passenger air traffic, while Uzbekistan leads the region in air cargo transportation. This is according to a study by the Eurasian Development Bank (EDB).
In 2025, airlines from the five Central Asian countries carried 31.7 million passengers. Kazakhstan accounted for 48.7% of the total, followed by Uzbekistan with 35%, Turkmenistan with 7%, Kyrgyzstan with 5.6% and Tajikistan with 3.7%.
Meanwhile, Uzbekistan’s passenger air traffic tripled compared with 2019, reaching 11.1 million passengers. Over the past decade, passenger-kilometers per capita increased 2.4 times in Kazakhstan and 3.4 times in Uzbekistan.
Uzbekistan also dominates the region’s air cargo market. Between 2023 and 2025, air cargo transportation in Central Asia grew more than fourfold, reaching 335,700 tonnes. In 2025, Uzbekistan accounted for approximately 67% of the cargo transported by the national airlines of the five Central Asian countries.
According to EDB experts, the development of the region’s aviation sector is hindered by limited direct air connections between Central Asian countries, the restricted implementation of open-skies policies and infrastructure modernization failing to keep pace with the growth in passenger and cargo traffic.
According to the bank, 12 major airport development projects worth a total of $5.1 billion are planned or underway in Central Asia through 2035.
