Airline News in Brief 17 February 2026

Air Astana boosts flights to Baku: Air Astana is resuming direct flights from Almaty to Baku and increasing the total number of flights to the capital of Azerbaijan. From 15 March 2026, flights on the Almaty-Baku-Almaty route will operate twice a week, on Thursdays and Sundays. From April the frequency will increase to three times a week, and from May to four times a week: on Mondays, Thursdays, Fridays and Sundays. The new schedule provides daytime departure and arrival, which are more convenient for travel planning. The airline is also increasing the frequency of regular flights on the Atyrau-Baku-Atyrau route to three times a week: from 18 March, flights will operate on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays; from April – on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. The flight time is 3 hours 35 minutes from Almaty and 1 hour 25 minutes from Atyrau. The cost of economy class round-trip tickets, including fees/taxes starts from US$320 for flights from Almaty and US$198 for flights from Atyrau. Tickets are now available for booking on the official website, as well as through the Air Astana mobile app and accredited travel agencies. Flydubai launches more services to Bangkok: Flydubai announced the launch of double-daily flights to Bangkok, bringing its operations to Thailand to 28 weekly flights. The new service will commence on 15 September 2026, operating from Terminal 3 at Dubai International (DXB) to Don Mueang International Airport (DMK) in Bangkok. The addition of double-daily flights to Bangkok marks flydubai’s second destination in Thailand, complementing its existing operations to Krabi and reinforcing the carrier’s commitment to expanding connectivity between Dubai and Southeast Asia. Don Mueang Airport is one of two international airports serving Bangkok. Located just north of the city centre, Don Mueang Airport is a key gateway for business and leisure travellers, offering convenient access to the vibrant Thai capital and its surrounding regions. Hamad Obaidalla, Chief Commercial Officer at flydubai, said:“Thailand remains a very popular destination for both leisure and business travel. The launch of our double-daily service to Bangkok reflects continued demand across our network and underscores our commitment to providing our customers with more convenient and flexible travel options. With our flights operating from Terminal 3 at Dubai International and in codeshare with Emirates, passengers can enjoy seamless connectivity through Dubai’s world-class aviation hub from destinations across the GCC, Europe and beyond.” With the launch of this service, flydubai continues to expand its network, now spanning more than 135 destinations. The carrier’s growing footprint underscores Dubai’s position as a global aviation hub, providing passengers from the GCC, Europe and beyond with convenient one-stop connections via Dubai. Singapore Airlines announces January operating stats: In January 2026, the Singapore Airlines (SIA) Group’s passenger traffic rose 0.7% year-on-year, against a 2.1% increase in capacity, partly reflecting the shift of the Lunar New Year holiday season from January in 2025 to February in 2026. Consequently, the Group’s passenger load factor (PLF) was 86.6%, with SIA and Scoot posting monthly PLFs of 86.1% and 88.2% respectively. The two airlines carried a combined total of 3.7 million passengers, 4.1% higher year-on-year. Cargo loads were flat year-on-year, while capacity fell 2.0% due to scheduled freighter aircraft maintenance and fleet redeployment. As a result, the cargo load factor increased 1.0 percentage point to 52.1%. During the month, Scoot launched passenger services to Chiang Rai (Thailand) and Palembang (Indonesia). As of end-January 2026, the Group’s passenger network covered 136 destinations in 37 countries and territories. SIA served 78 destinations, while Scoot served 81 destinations. The cargo network1 comprised 140 destinations in 38 countries and territories. For Editorial Inquiries Contact: Editor Matt Driskill at [email protected] For Advertising Inquiries Contact: Head of Sales Sally Passey at [email protected]