Some countries are located so that they are important transportation hubs connecting states or parts of the world. Kazakhstan also belongs to them. The airport is an essential element of the aviation network. The following are the main airports of the country, the current situation in this area and development prospects.
Importance of Aviation in Kazakhstan
Due to the large area, air transport is of great importance for Kazakhstan. On its territory there are 22 large airports, 14 of which are international. Aviation here is of great importance both for the country itself and for the whole world, since it carries out passenger and cargo turnover between Asia and Europe, the United States.
Major airports
The largest airport is Almaty. It is located in the southeastern 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 transportation. Moreover, passenger flow is increasing annually. In 2015, it amounted to more than 4.9 million people. Communication with 55 cities of the world through regular flights is carried out by this airport of Kazakhstan. Almaty for this has two runways suitable for any aircraft. In 2012, he was recognized as the best in the CIS.
The second largest domestic airline in the Republic of Kazakhstan is Astana Airport. It is located in the northern part of the country. It was founded earlier in Almaty, in 1930. Passenger traffic here also grows annually. In 2015, this indicator reached more than 3.3 million people. The airport has one runway, also suitable for any type of aircraft.
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 importance led to the emergence of a very large airport here in 1983. Its passenger turnover in 2015 amounted to about 0.9 million people and also continues to grow. In addition, airplanes of the Republic of Kazakhstan are located here. The airport belongs to class B. It has one lane capable of accepting not all types of aircraft.
Current situation
In 2013, a specialized airport management company under the name Airport Management Group LLP was established as a subdivision of JSC NC “Kazakhstan Temir Zholy”. She received 7-year stakes in six airports, including Astana, for management. On the basis of inspections, the difficult financial situation of some of them, especially regional ones, was established. These include, for example, Petropavlovsk airport. Kazakhstan will subsequently transfer five more facilities to the management of the Airport Management Group.
The general director of this company, Claude Badan, considers the annual growth of passenger traffic at 10% as a strong point of the aviation transport system of Kazakhstan. At the same time, the problems, in his opinion, consist in the inconsistency of many indicators with ICAO standards and in the low income of airports from non-aviation commercial activities, which make up 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 principle of "open skies" does not apply here, which allows flights to foreign companies without restrictions and approvals.
Prospects
To improve the functioning of airports and airlines as a whole, their reconstruction is planned. Until 2020, 167 billion tenge will be allocated for these purposes, and another 20 billion by 2030. In the period from 2015 to 2017, the reconstruction of airports in Astana, Shymkent, Kostanay, Petropavlovsk, Kyzylorda will be carried out. The program for their restoration involves updating passenger terminals, runways and infrastructure for a total of about 99 billion tenge.
The most extensive plans for Astana, which are 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 turnover to 7 million people per year. The existing terminal will be transferred to domestic flights. In order to simplify customs and passport control, a new management system has already been introduced. In addition, it is supposed to improve the quality of food both at the airport and on board aircraft, as well as reduce prices in cafes and shops. Finally, it is planned to improve transport links with the city and organize the functioning of a taxi.
Kazakhstan plans to reconstruct every other airport in a similar way, but on different scales. Many of them are already in the process of updating.
Now work is underway to create a multimodal cargo transportation system, which will further increase their flow between the continents.
Finally, it is possible to introduce the principle of "open skies" at the airports of Astana and Kokshetau. This will create inconvenience for local carriers, but will increase the income of airports.