Manshuk Mametova Manshuk Zhiengalikyzy Mametova ( kk, Мәншүк Жиенғалиқызы Мәметова, ''Mänşük Jienğaliqyzy Mämetova''; russian: Маншук Жиенгалиевна Маметова; 23 October 1922 – 15 October 1943) was a machine ...

International Airport ( kk, Мәншүк Мәметова атындағы Халықаралық әуежайы, ), also known as Oral Ak Zhol Airport ( kk, Ақжол халықаралық әуежайы, ; formerly known as Uralsk Ak Zhol and Podstepnyy during the Soviet era) is an airport in

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

located southeast of

Oral The word oral may refer to: Relating to the mouth * Relating to the mouth, the first portion of the alimentary canal that primarily receives food and liquid **Oral administration of medicines ** Oral examination (also known as an oral exam or oral ...

(Uralsk). The airport is located south of the Ural (Oral) River.

Facilities

It is a small airport servicing medium-sized airliners. It has parking for four jets. This airport has two terminals – domestic and international. The airport also serves the nearby town of Aksai, which provides the majority of Ak Zhol passenger traffic, being the "capital" of the gas industry in West Kazakhstan. In the past, a weekly international charter flight was operated by

Astraeus Airlines Astraeus Limited, trading as Astraeus Airlines, was a British airline based at Astraeus House in Crawley, West Sussex, England. Founded in 2002, and named after the Greek God of the dusk, it entered administration on 21 November 2011, ceasing ...

from Oral to

London Gatwick Gatwick Airport (), also known as London Gatwick , is a major international airport near Crawley, West Sussex, England, south of Central London. In 2021, Gatwick was the third-busiest airport by total passenger traffic in the UK, after Hea ...

London Stansted London Stansted Airport is a tertiary international airport serving London, England, United Kingdom. It is located near Stansted Mountfitchet, Essex, England, northeast of Central London. London Stansted serves over 160 destinations acros ...

; this was subsequently operated by

Air Astana Air Astana ( kk, Эйр Астана, translit=Eir Astana; russian: Эйр Астана́, translit=) is an airline group based in Almaty, Kazakhstan. It operates scheduled international and domestic services on 64 routes from its main hub, Alma ...

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

; however, the route was terminated, along with other Air Astana flights, due to the poor condition of the runway. The airport runway and facilities were inspected by

Mott MacDonald The Mott MacDonald Group is a consultancy headquartered in the United Kingdom. It employs 16,000 staff in 150 countries. Mott MacDonald is one of the largest employee-owned companies in the world. It was established in 1989 by the merger of M ...

to confirm that its substandard condition prevented the airport from accommodating larger jet aircraft. On 17 April 2013, the decision was made to transfer the airport's ownership back to the government for runway reconstruction.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Cargo

Ground transport

Bus

The No 12 municipal bus line connects Ak Zhol International airport with centrally located Uralsk train station. Service is available from 06:00 to 22:00 daily.

Taxi

There is always a queue of available private taxi cabs at the airport parking lot.

Accidents and incidents

*On 15 April 2006, a

British Airways British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a populati ...

Boeing 747 The Boeing 747 is a large, long-range wide-body airliner designed and manufactured by Boeing Commercial Airplanes in the United States between 1968 and 2022. After introducing the 707 in October 1958, Pan Am wanted a jet times its size, t ...

, G-BNLA, operating as flight number BA10 from Sydney to London via

Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai language, Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estima ...

with 354 passengers and 18 crew made an emergency landing at Uralsk Airport after a fire warning light went on in the cockpit. Although the only airport's landing strip is certified for operation of medium-sized aircraft the crew managed to perform a safe landing. There were no fatalities or reportable injuries, however the airport did not have the correct size of air stairs to reach the aircraft doors, the largest passenger aircraft that had operated on a regular basis previously had been an

Boeing 757 The Boeing 757 is an American narrow-body airliner designed and built by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. The then-named 7N7, a twinjet successor for the 727 (a trijet), received its first orders in August 1978. The prototype completed its mai ...

. As the 747 was deemed too heavy for take-off smaller size aircraft were sent from Moscow and

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

to ferry the passengers to London. *On 28 August 2009, an Itek Air Boeing-737-200 en route from

Bishkek Bishkek ( ky, Бишкек), ), formerly Pishpek and Frunze, is the capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. The region surrounds the city, although the city itself is not part of ...

to Moscow performed an emergency landing due to oil leak on the port engine. *On 17 November 2011, a

Bek Air Bek Air was a Kazakh airline headquartered in Oral. History The airline was founded in 1999 as a business jet operator, Berkut Air, and since started domestic scheduled services. In 2008, Bek Air purchased shares of stock in Oral Ak Zhol Airpo ...

Fokker 100 The Fokker 100 is a regional jet produced by Fokker in the Netherlands. The Fokker 100 is based on the Fokker F28 with a fuselage stretched by to seat up to 109 passengers, up from 85. It is powered by two newer Rolls-Royce Tay turbofans, an ...

operating as flight BEK-2011 from

Almaty Almaty (; kk, Алматы; ), formerly known as Alma-Ata ( kk, Алма-Ата), is the List of most populous cities in Kazakhstan, largest city in Kazakhstan, with a population of about 2 million. It was the capital of Kazakhstan from 1929 to ...

Uralsk Uralsk (russian: Уральск) is the name of several rural localities in Russia: *Uralsk, Republic of Bashkortostan, a '' selo'' in Uralsky Selsoviet of Uchalinsky District of the Republic of Bashkortostan * Uralsk, Orenburg Oblast, a ''selo'' ...

made an emergency landing in Uralsk after a

go-around In aviation, a go-around is an aborted landing of an aircraft that is on final approach or has already touched down. A go-around can either be initiated by the pilot flying or requested by air traffic control for various reasons, such as an unstab ...

having a landing gear and cargo door failure alerts.

References

{{authority control Airports built in the Soviet Union Airports in Kazakhstan