Air Astana will launch a direct service from Almaty (ALA) to the ancient city of Samarkand (SKD) in Uzbekistan from June 9, with flights operated using Airbus A321 aircraft on Wednesdays and Sundays. Samarkand will become the airline’s second destination in Uzbekistan, with direct flights to Tashkent (TAS), the country’s capital, having been operated since 2010.

Saudi LCC flynas has added the Seychelles (SEZ) to its international network. The airline will operate a 3X-weekly seasonal service from Jeddah (JED), starting July 1 on board Airbus A320 aircraft. Flights will be timed to offer connections to and from Riyadh. The route is currently scheduled to run until Sept. 7.

Serbia’s national airline Air Serbia is launching seasonal flights between Kraljevo (KVO) and Thessaloniki (SKG) in Greece, starting 13 July, as well as flights between Niš (INI) and Tivat (TIV) in Montenegro, starting June 15. KVO-SKG flights will be 1X-weekly through Aug. 24 on board ATR72 aircraft, while INI-TIV will be 2X-weekly.

Ukraine International Airlines plans to resume regular flights to the capital of Greece from June 18. Flights from Kyiv (KBP) to Athens (ATH) will operate on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. The outbound service will depart KBP at 10.35 a.m., arriving in ATH at 1.10 p.m., while the return leaves ATH at 2.05 p.m. and arrives back in KBP at 4.40 p.m. The schedule is timed to allow passengers traveling from Athens to connect on services to Baku, Tbilisi, Yerevan, Batumi, as well as domestic destinations in Ukraine.

Flydubai is resuming operations to Naples (NAP) in Italy. The 3X-weekly service from Dubai (DXB) restarts on July 1 as part of a travel corridor between the United Arab Emirates and Italy. The airline plans to increase the frequency of flights to 4X-weekly from Aug. 1. In addition, service to Bodrum (BJV) and Trabzon (TZX) in Turkey will start from June 4 and 24 respectively, while flights to Sharm El Sheikh (SSH) in Egypt begin June 15.

KLM has reported that its North American network of destinations is “practically back to its 2019 level” but capacity and flight frequencies remain much lower. The airline will offer 16 North American destinations this summer, compared with 17 in 2019. However, while Amsterdam (AMS)-Salt Lake City (SLC) is absent, the route will continue to be served by partner Delta Air Lines. During the winter season, KLM plans to add Cancun (CUN) and Orlando (MCO) to its network.

Eurowings has begun flights from Dortmund (DTM) to Malaga (AGP) and Alicante (ALC) in Spain, and Catania (CTA) in Italy. Three more new routes will be launched later this month to Naples (NAP, Heraklion (HER) and Kavala (KVA), with flights to Rhodes (RHO) from July 2.

Air Arabia Egypt is introducing three new domestic routes. Sharm El Sheikh (SSH)-Cairo (CAI), Alexandria (HBE)-Hurghada (HRG) and CAI-HRG will each be 2X-weekly from July 2 on board A320 aircraft.

Oman Air is launching seasonal service between Muscat (MCT) and Tbilisi (TBS), Georgia, with 2X-weekly flights using 737 aircraft. Flights will operate from June 16 through Sept. 16., subject to government approvals. The route was last served by SalamAir in 2018.

Brazil’s GOL Linhas Aéreas is reopening seven regional bases in June, reinstating service from Caldas Novas (CLV), Campina Grande (CPV), Caxias do Sul (CXJ), Londrina (LDB), Montes Claros (MOC), Sinop (NOP) and Uberlândia (UDI). The airline will initially offer flights to each from São Paulo/Guarulhos (GRU). GOL said it plans to operate 300 daily flights across its network in June, up 36% on May.

Air New Zealand has been awarded more international cargo flights under the New Zealand government's Maintaining International Air Connectivity (MIAC) scheme. With the scheme extended through to October, the airline will operate around 30 flights per week to 13 destinations including Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Shanghai, as well as maintaining air connectivity with key Pacific ports.

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