United Airlines Eyes 2 Central Asian Countries That No US Carrier Has Ever Served

Credit: Simple Flying Published Oct 29, 2026, 4:24 AM EDT Luke has over a decade of experience as a travel writer and aviation analyst. As a passionate traveler based across the Middle East and Asia, Luke offers strong insights into the industry. Based in South East Asia. Sign in to your Simple Flying account United Airlines is considering Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan as possible future destinations, with CEO Scott Kirby revealing that the airline's head of network planning visited both countries this year. No US airline has ever operated scheduled passenger flights to either country. While Uzbekistan Airways offers nonstop flights to New York, Kazakhstan currently has no nonstop passenger flights to the US. However, Kirby made clear that Central Asia is not an imminent option for United given the Russian airspace situation, which has been closed to US airlines since 2022. United Mulls Over Future Uzbekistan And Kazakhstan Flights Credit: Telsek | Shutterstock As flagged by Live And Let's Fly, United Airlines CEO Kirby made the comments on the Cheeky Pint podcast, naming both countries as possible destinations for the carrier "down the road." Kirby said that Patrick Quayle, the airline's senior vice president of global network planning and alliances, visited Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan this year to assess both destinations as future network additions. Kazakhstan's primary airport is Almaty Airport (ALA) , while Tashkent International Airport (TAS) is Uzbekistan's main international gateway. Kirby did not name which hub United would likely launch flights from, although flights from the US East Coast would be considerably shorter in distance compared to a West Coast connection. This would make Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) a possible gateway for any future flights. Almaty and Tashkent are also located relatively close to one another at around 420 miles (680 km) apart, raising the possibility of a single flight serving both cities. This would be similar to Lufthansa’s combined service to Almaty and Astana from Frankfurt. If United did launch flights to either city, it would become the first US airline to operate scheduled passenger flights to either country. Kirby said, "[Quayle] took a trip to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. We can't fly there today because we can't fly over Russia. But [he said] this could work down the road." Russian Airspace Would Complicate Historic Launch Credit: Minh K Tran | Shutterstock US airlines have been barred from Russian airspace since March 2022, in response to the US ban on Russian carriers following Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Given these restrictions, United would be forced to fly a longer routing, making the route less economical. There would also be credible safety and operational concerns in the event of emergencies and diversions. Neither Kazakhstan nor Uzbekistan have ever been served with scheduled passenger flights by a US airline. However, US carriers have operated cargo flights, such as Atlas Air, which operates Boeing 747 freighters into Almaty from European airports, including Amsterdam and Zaragoza. This wouldn't be the first time United has achieved a first in the wider region. In May 2025, the airline launched its seasonal Tokyo Narita (NRT)–Ulaanbaatar (ULN) service, becoming the first-ever US airline to serve Mongolia. Kirby said the airline added this pairing after discovering that around 12% of passengers on one of its Tokyo flights were connecting onward to Ulaanbaatar. US And Central Asia Flight Connections Credit: GC Map The only nonstop passenger service between the US and Central Asia currently flies between Tashkent and New York JFK Airport (JFK). This is operated by Uzbekistan Airways, which uses its Boeing 787 Dreamliners on the route up to five times a week during the summer. Kazakhstan's flag carrier Air Astana is also hoping to launch nonstop flights to New York next year. The airline must first receive a Category 1 safety rating from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and also faces the same hurdles with closed Russian airspace. If this goes ahead, the airline is open to codeshare agreements with a US carrier. According to Kirby, there would be demand for services to Kazakhstan, as many United passengers are already traveling to the country with partner airlines. He said that around 60% of passengers on United’s flights to Frankfurt and Munich connect onward, with Kazakhstan as one of those onward connections.