Ras Al Khaimah inks agreement with Scat Airlines for direct flights to eight cities in Kazakhstan

The Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority (RAKTDA) has entered into an agreement with SCAT Airlines to begin direct flights between the emirate and eight cities in Kazakhstan starting March 5, 2021.

The airline will commence direct flights between Ras Al Khaimah and Nur-Sultan, Almaty, Aktobe, Aktau, Atyrau, Uralsk, Karaganda and Shymkent using its Boeing 737-700 NG aircraft.

Kazakhstan has reportedly been among the emirate’s top five source markets for inbound tourism over the past few years.

The arrivals from Kazakhstan will receive complimentary PCR testing – a service that Ras Al Khaimah is extending to all international visitors.

Ras Al Khaimah leads in ADR (average daily rate) in the UAE and also in the RevPAR (revenue per available room) in the UAE and GCC for 2020.

In addition to becoming the first city in the world to be certified as safe by Bureau Veritas and World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), all 45 of its hotels including the Rixos, Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, The Ritz Carlton and Hilton Hotels have also received Bureau Veritas certification.

“Our partnership with SCAT Airlines is a key milestone in Ras Al Khaimah’s tourism strategy, especially as we co-create a viable tourism vision for ‘new normal’ and post pandemic travel,” said Raki Phillips, CEO of RAKTDA.

Vladimir Sytnik, vice president, SCAT Airlines, added: “Our mutual collaboration with Ras Al Khaimah Tourism Development Authority provides citizens of Kazakhstan with a service that satisfies not only the needs of residents of larger cities but also makes it possible to travel to Ras Al Khaimah from other regions, which is very important for the family holiday segment.”

In an initiative to enhance Ras Al Khaimah’s connectivity to international destinations, the Ras Al Khaimah International Airport (RAK International Airport) signed an MoU with Bahrain’s national carrier Gulf Air last month to explore the possibility of starting flights from the kingdom to the emirate.

Read: Bahrain’s Gulf Air mulling flights to UAE’s Ras Al Khaimah Airport

Indian carrier SpiceJet too recently expanded its operations from RAK Airport to five more cities including Mumbai, Cochin, Amritsar, Lucknow and Jaipur, besides increasing frequencies to its existing Delhi-Ras Al Khaimah-Delhi route.

Read: SpiceJet adds five destinations to India from UAE’s Ras Al Khaimah Airport

UAE low-cost carrier Air Arabia also introduced an all-new service from Ras Al Khaimah to the Bangladesh capital city of Dhaka, alongside its existing flights to several cities in Egypt, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

Read: Air Arabia announces new service from Ras Al Khaimah