Falling commodity prices and a weak currency contributed to a loss of US$6.6 million at Air Astana during the first half of 2016.
The Kazakhstan carrier cited weaker demand in regional markets due to commodity price falls and currency devaluation of the Kazakh Tenge.
Passenger numbers fell by 7% to 1.69 million, the airline said.
"The macro-economic environment has been and continues to be extremely challenging for all airlines operating in the region. However we have been able to compensate to a large extent for a steep drop in revenue, particularly on domestic routes, by further reducing unit cost and by substantially increasing international transit traffic between Europe and Asia," said Peter Foster, Air Astana president and CEO.
Foster called the performance ‘better than expected under the circumstances’ however prospects for the rest of the year remain uncertain.
Further development of transit business over our Astana and Almaty hubs continues to be a priority," Foster added.
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