Kazakhstan: airport (main facilities, current status, prospects)

Some countries are located so that they are important transport hubs connecting states or parts of the world. Kazakhstan also belongs to them. The airport is an important element of the aviation network. Further, the main airports of the country, the current situation in this area and prospects for development are considered.

The importance of aviation in Kazakhstan

Due to the large area, air transport is of great importance for Kazakhstan. On its territory there are 22 major airports, 14 of which are international. Aviation here is of great importance both for the country itself and for the whole world, as it is through the passenger and cargo traffic between Asia and Europe, the USA.

Major airports

The largest airport is Alma-Ata. It is located in the south-eastern part of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The airport was established in 1935. It provides the largest share of both domestic and international passenger and cargo air travel. Moreover, the passenger flow increases every year. In 2015, it amounted to more than 4.9 million people. Connection with 55 cities of the world through regular flights is provided by this airport in Kazakhstan. Almaty has two runways suitable for any aircraft. In 2012 he was recognized as the best in the CIS.

The second largest domestic air transportation in the Republic of Kazakhstan is Astana Airport. It is located in the northern part of the country. It was founded earlier by the Alma-Ata, in 1930 the passenger traffic here also grows annually. In 2015, this indicator reached more than 3.3 million people. The airport has one runway, suitable also for aircraft of any types.

The third largest airport is Aktau, located in the south-west of the country. Despite the fact that the city, where it is located, is small, its industrial significance caused the emergence of a very large airport here in 1983. Its passenger turnover in 2015 amounted to about 0.9 million people and is also continuing to grow. In addition, air planes of the Republic of Kazakhstan are stationed here. The airport belongs to class B. It has one lane capable of accepting aircraft of all types.

Current situation

In 2013, as a subdivision of JSC NC "Kazakhstan Temir Zholy" was established a specialized airport management company called LLC Airport Management Group. She received shares in six airports in Astana for seven years, including Astana. On the basis of inspections, the difficult financial situation of some of them, especially regional ones, was established. These include, for example, the airport of Petropavlovsk. Kazakhstan in the future will transfer to management of Airport Management Group five more objects.

The general director of this company, Claude Badan, considers the strength of the air transport system of Kazakhstan to be an annual increase in passenger traffic of 10%. At the same time, the problems, in his opinion, consist in the inconsistency of many indicators with ICAO standards and in the low incomes of airports from non-aeronautical commercial activities, which are less than 5%.

In addition, Kazakhstan has a favorable position for transit flights connecting Europe and the United States with Asia, but this potential is poorly used. In addition, the "open skies" principle does not work here, allowing flights to foreign companies without restrictions and approvals.

Prospects

To improve the efficiency of airports and airlines in general, their reconstruction is planned. By 2020, 167 billion tenge will be allocated for these purposes, and another 20 billion by 2030. Within the period from 2015 to 2017, the airports of Astana, Shymkent, Kostanay, Petropavlovsk, Kyzylorda will be reconstructed. The program of their restoration includes the renewal of passenger terminals, runways and infrastructure for a total of about 99 billion tenge.

The most extensive plans for Astana, which is partly due to the holding in 2017 of the EXPO exhibition in the capital of the Republic of Kazakhstan. The airport is planned to be improved not only technically, but also in terms of service. First of all, a new passenger terminal will be built with a capacity of 4 million people per year, which will increase the total passenger traffic to 7 million people per year. The operating terminal will be transferred to domestic flights. In order to simplify the passage of customs and passport control have already implemented a new management system. In addition, it is supposed to improve the quality of food both in the airport and on board aircraft, as well as reduce prices in cafes and shops. Finally, it is planned to improve the transport connection with the city and organize the functioning of a taxi.

Kazakhstan plans to reconstruct each other airport in the same way, but on different scales. Many of them are already in the process of updating.

Now work is under way to create a multimodal system for the transport of goods, which will further increase their flow between the continents.

Finally, it is possible to introduce the principle of "open skies" in the airports of Astana and Kokshetau. This will create inconvenience for local carriers, but will increase airport revenue.