Almaty International Airport

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Almaty International Airport

Halyqaralyq Almaty Äuejaiy
Almaty Airport logo.svg
Almaty Airport Osokin-1.jpg
  • IATA: ALA[1]
  • ICAO: UAAA[1]
  • WMO: 36870
Summary
Airport typePublic
OwnerTAV Airports Holding
ServesAlmaty
LocationAlmaty, Kazakhstan (inside city limits)
Hub for
Focus city for
  • SCAT Airlines
Elevation AMSL681 m / 2,234 ft
Coordinates43°21′19″N 077°02′41″E / 43.35528°N 77.04472°E / 43.35528; 77.04472Coordinates: 43°21′19″N 077°02′41″E / 43.35528°N 77.04472°E / 43.35528; 77.04472
Websitealmaty-kazakhstan.net/travel/almaty-airport
Map
ALA/UAAA is located in Kazakhstan
ALA/UAAA
ALA/UAAA
Location in Almaty, Kazakhstan
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
05R/23L 4,400 14,436 Concrete
05L/23R 4,500 14,764 Concrete
Statistics (2019)
Passengers6,422,721
Source: AIP Kazakhstan[2]

Almaty International Airport (IATA: ALA, ICAO: UAAA) (Kazakh: Halyqaralyq Almaty Äuejaiy/Халықаралық Алматы Әуежайы), formerly Alma-Ata Airport, is a major international airport 15 km (9.3 mi) northeast of Almaty,[2] the largest city and commercial capital of Kazakhstan. It is the busiest airport in that country, accounting for half of passenger traffic and 68% of cargo traffic.[3] [date missing]

Owners and management[]

Almaty International Airport JSC is 100% owned by TAV Airports Holding a company registered in Turkey.

History[]

Early years[]

The airport was built in 1935, for all small civil/military flying ships.[4] Up to 1990, it was the part of Kazakh Department of Civil Aviation, and then reorganized into "Alma-Ata Airport" in 1991. Since 1993, it has run as an independent business unit. In 1994, it was reorganized into OJSC "Almaty Airport" and later renamed to JSC Almaty International Airport.

The supersonic transport (SST) Tupolev Tu-144 began service on 26 December 1975, flying mail and freight between Moscow and Alma-Ata in preparation for passenger services, which commenced in November 1977. The Aeroflot flight on 1 June 1978 was the Tu-144's 55th and last scheduled passenger service.

Following a runway reconstruction in 1998, Almaty airport was awarded a CAT II certificate and the status of an international airport.

On 9 July 1999, a fire started in the shashlik kitchen of the airport restaurant. The terminal building burned down in just a few hours, but without major injuries.

Development since 2000[]

Construction of a new terminal was completed in 2004. On 30 September 2008, a second runway was opened with the first departure being a BMI flight bound for London Heathrow. The new runway was also given an ICAO certificate for CAT III landings which will significantly reduce the number of planes diverting to nearby airfields due to low visibility, especially during the winter months. The runway is the longest in central Asia. The new runway can accept all types of aircraft without limitation of take-off weight and operation frequency.

Growth in connectivity is in danger of being compromised by airport infrastructure that is comparatively expensive and not keeping pace with demand growth. IATA is urging the Kazakhstan government to follow ICAO principles and eliminate differential ANSP charges between domestic and international carriers. Currently (2012), it is 18% more expensive to turn around an Airbus A320 in Almaty than at similarly sized airports in Europe. The differential rises to 43% for a Boeing 767.[5]

There were plans to build a new passenger terminal for international flights with six loading bridges and capacity up to 2,500 passengers per hour in the near future. A developed infrastructure complex consisting of a Marriott Hotel, conference halls, business center, shopping center and cinemas were planned to be within this terminal.

The new terminal was to be located along Kuldja Road to help reduce traffic on the way to the airport. However the terminal's construction was stopped due to managers postponing the project's construction in 2010 because of disagreements with Air Astana's plans for the terminal which was intended to serve Air Astana international flights while the existing terminal would serve domestic destinations. According to the managers, the problems of this plan would be that Air Astana would have faculties operating, and its planes transferring from one end of the runway to another which would create delayed transporting problems for Air Astana; since the runway lines would be busy with the having lack of space of creating new runways. There has been a conclusion to demolish the construction and rebuild the new terminal used for domestic and international flights. There are now plans to build a new airport in Kapchagai reservoir which is 48 km away from Almaty.[6]

On February 17, 2012 in Moscow, at the 32nd session of the Council on Aviation and the Use of Airspace of the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC), Almaty International Airport was recognized as the best in the CIS and received the prize "For Achievements in the Development of International Airports".[7]

During the disturbances of January 2022, the airport was commandeered by insurgents on the sixth, halting flights before being re-taken by Russian forces.[8][9][10][11]

Airlines and destinations[]

Passenger[]

AirlinesDestinations
Aeroflot Moscow–Sheremetyevo
Air Arabia Sharjah
Air Astana[12] Aktau, Aktobe, Atyrau, Baku, Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Beijing–Capital, Bishkek, Colombo–Bandaranaike,[13] Delhi, Dubai–International, Dushanbe, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Kyiv–Boryspil, Kyzylorda, Malè, Moscow–Domodedovo,[14] Nur-Sultan, Oral, Oskemen, Saint Petersburg, Samarkand,[15] Seoul–Incheon, Shymkent, Tashkent, Tbilisi, Ürümqi
Seasonal: Antalya, Bodrum, Podgorica[16]
Seasonal charter: Hambantota–Mattala,[17] Sharm El Sheikh
Air Seychelles Seasonal charter: Mahé[18]
airBaltic Seasonal: Riga
Asiana Airlines Seoul–Incheon
Azerbaijan Airlines Baku
Belavia Minsk
China Southern Airlines Ürümqi
FlyArystan Aktau, Aktobe, Atyrau,[19] Karagandy, Kokshetau, Kostanay, Nur-Sultan, Oral, Pavlodar, Petropavl, Semey, Shymkent, Taraz, Turkistan[20]
flydubai Dubai–International
Hainan Airlines Beijing–Capital
Jazeera Airways Kuwait[21]
Kam Air Kabul
Lufthansa Frankfurt
Mahan Air Tehran–Imam Khomeini[22]
Nordwind Kaliningrad,[23] Samara[24]
Pegasus Airlines Antalya,[25] Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen
Qatar Airways Doha[26]
Qazaq Air Nur-Sultan, Shymkent, Taraz[27]
S7 Airlines Novosibirsk
SCAT Airlines[28] Aktau, Aktobe, Atyrau, Balkhash,[29] Haikou,[30] Jeddah,[31] Karagandy, Kokshetau, Kostanay, Kyzylorda,[32] Medina,[31] Mineralnye Vody, Nur-Sultan, Oral, Oskemen, Petropavl, Ras Al Khaimah,[33] Semey, Shymkent, Taraz, Zhezkazgan
Seasonal: Antalya,[34] Sanya
Seasonal charter: Hambantota–Mattala[35]
SkyUp Kyiv–Boryspil[36]
Somon Air Dushanbe
Sunday Airlines Seasonal charter: Antalya, Sharm El Sheikh, Malè
Turkish Airlines Istanbul
Turkmenistan Airlines Ashgabat
Ural Airlines Moscow–Zhukovsky, Yekaterinburg
Uzbekistan Airways Samarkand, Tashkent
Wizz Air Abu Dhabi[37]

Cargo[]

AirlinesDestinations
Cargolux[38] Luxembourg
Cargolux Italia[39] Milan–Malpensa
Qatar Airways Cargo[40] Doha, Hong Kong
Silk Way West Airlines[41] Baku
Turkish Cargo[42] Bishkek, Guangzhou, Istanbul–Atatürk, Seoul–Incheon, Nur-Sultan, Shanghai–Pudong, Taipei–Taoyuan
UPS Airlines[citation needed] Cologne/Bonn, Seoul–Incheon, Shanghai–Pudong

Statistics[]

Check-in hall
Apron view

Annual traffic[]

Annual passenger traffic at ALA airport. See source Wikidata query.
Annual passenger traffic[43][44][non-primary source needed][45]
Year Passengers % Change
2010 3,000,000 Steady
2011 3,665,538 Increase 22.2%
2012 4,003,004 Increase 9.2%
2013 4,323,224 Increase 8%
2014 4,588,866 Increase 6%
2015 4,905,307 Increase 6.9%
2016 4,878,450 Decrease 0.5%
2017 5,640,800 Increase 15.6%
2018 5,686,926 Increase 1%
2019 6,422,721 Increase 13%

Accidents and incidents[]

  • 7 July 1980: Aeroflot Flight 4225, a Tupolev Tu-154B-2, aircraft registration CCCP-85355, crashed with the loss of all 156 passengers and 10 crew shortly after takeoff from Alma-Ata Airport. Investigators found that the airspeed suddenly dropped because of a downdraft the aircraft encountered during climb out, causing it to stall, crash about 5 km (3.1 mi) from the airport, and catch fire.[46]
  • 30 August 1983: Aeroflot Flight 5463, a Tupolev Tu-134, crashed on approach to Almaty after a flight from Chelyabinsk; all 90 passengers and crew died.
  • 29 January 2013: SCAT Airlines Flight 760, a Bombardier CRJ-200ER, crashed during a low-visibility approach into Almaty International. All 21 occupants died. Investigators found that during the missed approach necessitated by the inclement weather, the elevator was deflected to lower the nose instead of raising the nose, resulting in a steep dive and impact with the ground; they were unable to determine the cause of the elevator movement but did not find evidence of any system malfunction or external influences.
  • 27 December 2019: Thirteen people died when Bek Air Flight 2100, a Fokker 100, crashed en route to Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport, crashing into a building just after takeoff.
  • 13 March 2021: An Antonov An-26 operating for the Border Service of the National Security Committee of the Republic of Kazakhstan crashed on landing; four occupants died and the two survivors reportedly suffered serious injuries. The cause of the accident is under investigation.[47][48]

See also[]

  • List of airports in Kazakhstan
  • List of the busiest airports in the former USSR

References[]

  1. ^ a b "Almaty - Kazakhstan". world-airport-codes.com. Retrieved 18 November 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 30 June 2016. Retrieved 1 June 2016.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  3. ^ "ISI Intellinews". euromoney.com.
  4. ^ "Almaty International Airport". Airport Technology. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
  5. ^ "Building the 'Silk Road in the Sky' via Kazakhstan". The Gazette of Central Asia. Satrapia. 16 September 2012.
  6. ^ Бурдин, Виктор (16 May 2017). "Почему "Эйр Астана" против нового терминала аэропорта Алматы".
  7. ^ "Аэродром международного аэропорта Алматы назван лучшим в СНГ". www.aex.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 14 December 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  8. ^ "Kazakhstan president confirms takeover of Almaty airport | DW | 05.01.2022". Deutsche Welle.
  9. ^ "Breaking: Protesters Seize Main Airport in Almaty, Kazakhstan". 5 January 2022.
  10. ^ "Protesters seize airport of Kazakhstan's biggest city". 5 January 2022.
  11. ^ "Russia Takes Control of Almaty Airport Following Unrest". 7 January 2022.
  12. ^ "Air Astana – Timetable". Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  13. ^ "Air Astana launches scheduled services to Sri Lanka". www.anna.aero/. Anna Aero. 1 November 2021. Retrieved 3 November 2021.
  14. ^ Dyson, Molly (21 August 2019). "Air Astana to transfer Moscow flights to Domodedovo". Buying Business Travel. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  15. ^ https://airastana.com/global/en-us/About-Us/Overview/Air-Astana-News/air-astana-launches-new-service-to-samarkand
  16. ^ "Air Astana to launch flights to Montenegro's Podgorica in June". seenews.com. 24 May 2021.
  17. ^ "Sri Lanka's Mattala Airport welcomes Air Astana, 2,500 tourists in 2021". economynext.com. 7 February 2021.
  18. ^ "Air Seychelles to establish connection with Kazakhstan this summer". www.airseychelles.com. 19 July 2021.
  19. ^ Liu, Jim. "FlyArystan expands domestic network in July/August 2020". Routesonline. Retrieved 19 June 2020.
  20. ^ "Kazakh Civil Aviation Committee to Launch First Flights to Country's Turkistan". AviationPros. Retrieved 12 November 2020.
  21. ^ "Jazeera Airways Launches First Ever Route Between Kazakhstan and Kuwait". Aviation Pros. Retrieved 2 December 2021.
  22. ^ March 2019, Yerbolat Uatkhanov in Tourism on 7 (7 March 2019). "Kazakh, Iranian companies to expand international air routes". Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  23. ^ Casey, David. "Routes In Brief: Korean Air, Air Nostrum, Singapore Airlines And More". Routesonline. Retrieved 22 October 2021.
  24. ^ Liu, Jim (16 April 2019). "Nordwind schedules new Central Asia service in 2Q19". Routesonline. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  25. ^ Liu, Jim. "Pegasus adds Antalya – Almaty service from Oct 2020". Routesonline. Retrieved 12 October 2020.
  26. ^ "Qatar Airways announces the launch of flights to Almaty in Kazakhstan". TravelDailyNews International.
  27. ^ Liu, Jim. "Qazaq Air adds Almaty – Taraz route from July 2020". Routesonline. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  28. ^ "SCAT Airlines – Timetable". Retrieved 29 August 2019.
  29. ^ Liu, Jim. "SCAT aircompany plans various domestic sector resumptions in W19". Routesonline. Retrieved 8 January 2020.
  30. ^ "Direct flight links China's resort island, Kazakhstan's Almaty �� Xinhua | English.news.cn". Xinhua News Agency. Retrieved 27 December 2019.
  31. ^ a b Liu, Jim. "SCAT adds Saudi Arabia service in W19". Routesonline. Retrieved 4 November 2019.
  32. ^ Liu, Jim. "SCAT expands Kyzylorda service in June 2020". Routesonline. Retrieved 9 June 2020.
  33. ^ "Direct flight to UAE". scat.kz. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  34. ^ "SCAT adds Almaty – Antalya service from late-Dec 2018". routesonline. Retrieved 25 December 2018.
  35. ^ "SCAT Airlines operates inaugural flight to Mattala". adaderana.lk. 11 February 2021.
  36. ^ "Travelling East: SkyUp Announces Flights to Almaty". skyup.aero. 2 March 2021.
  37. ^ "Hungarian low-cost airline Wizz Air plans to launch flights "Abu Dhabi-Nur-Sultan-Abu Dhabi"".
  38. ^ cargolux.com - Network & Offices retrieved 1 December 2021
  39. ^ cargolux-italia.com - Map retrieved 1 December 2021
  40. ^ Ltd, DVV Media International. "Qatar Airways Cargo adds another new freighter service". Air Cargo News. Archived from the original on 6 February 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  41. ^ silkwaywest.com - Schedule retrieved 1 December 2021
  42. ^ Ltd. 2019, UBM (UK). "Turkish Cargo adds 7 destinations in Jan 2018". Routesonline. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  43. ^ Airport. "files/ARAL/2016" (PDF). kase.kz.
  44. ^ UAAA. "Министерства по инвестициям и развитию РК". facebook.com.
  45. ^ "Аэропорт Алматы в 2018г увеличил пассажиропоток на 1%". interfax.kz. Retrieved 18 February 2019.
  46. ^ "ASN Aircraft accident Tupolev Tu-154B-2 CCCP-85355 Alma-Ata Airport (ALA)". aviation-safety.net. Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  47. ^ VOA News (13 March 2021). "Kazakhstan Military Plane Crashes; 4 Killed" [Kazakhstan Military Plane Crashes; 4 Killed]. Voice of America. Retrieved 13 March 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  48. ^ Chris Loh (13 March 2021). "Antonov An-26 Turboprop Crashes In Kazakhstan" [Antonov An-26 Turboprop Crashes In Kazakhstan]. Simple Flying News. Retrieved 13 March 2021.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)

External links[]

Media related to Almaty International Airport at Wikimedia Commons

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