Hi. My partner and I are looking to travel from Almaty or Astana to Manas Airport (Bishkek). Does anyone know if such flights exist?
The main purpose for the flight is to get a visa on arrival - we are also considering getting a Kyrgyz visa at their Embassy/Consulate in Astana or Almaty - is this the more sensible approach?
Cheers
Joel
joelmcgregor
1
centralasia_traveler
Even if you could get a flight, it only takes a few hours at the Kyrgyz embassy in Astana (assuming it has moved as planned) or consulate (Almaty) to get the Kyrgyz visa.
It would take less time, overall, than going to the airport two hours before the flight, waiting in security and waiting rooms, getting on the plane and waiting for it to take off, and then waiting in the long lines at Bishkek's Manas Airport.
Instead, wait in line a few hours at the embassy/consulate, turn in your application and pay, do some sightseeing, and come back in the afternoon to pick up your passport with a shiny new visa.
In any case, per the official Atana Airport web site, there are no flights from Astana to Bishkek.
The official Almaty Airport web page is down right now, so I can't check. But even if there is a flight, the drive from Almaty to Bishkek is 236 km, five hours or less in a marshrutka, through some lovely countryside and a largely hassle-free border, versus probably at least four hours overall of airport hassle for an expensive half-hour flight.
Not like I'm biased or anything...
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