Sary-Arka Airport ( kk, Saryarqa äuejaiy) is the airport of

Karagandy Karaganda or Qaraghandy ( kk, Қарағанды/Qarağandy, ; russian: Караганда, ) is the capital of Karaganda Region in the Republic of Kazakhstan. It is the fourth most populous city in Kazakhstan, behind Almaty (Alma-Ata), Astana ...

, Kazakhstan. It is located southeast of the city.

History

The airport was built in 1934, on a site at the edge of the city centre, and moved further out to its current location in 1944. The old terminal building on Shturman Street still stands, now occupied by a market for car parts. In 1980 it underwent major reconstruction, including the construction of a new terminal building and modernization of the runway. This made the landing of heavier aircraft possible and opened the door to many new destinations in the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

. In 1992, the airport was granted international status. It has become an independent

joint stock company A joint-stock company is a business entity in which shares of the company's stock can be bought and sold by shareholders. Each shareholder owns company stock in proportion, evidenced by their shares (certificates of ownership). Shareholders are ...

after separation from JSC "Karagandaavia" in 1997. It is not related to

Saryarka – Steppe and Lakes of Northern Kazakhstan Saryarka – Steppe and Lakes of Northern Kazakhstan is a part of the Kazakh Uplands (known in Kazakh as ''saryarka'', or "yellow range") which has been designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It was inscribed on July 7, 2008. (''see'' List of ...

on the

World Heritage List A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the UNESCO, United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNES ...

. Sary-Akra Airport is home to the 610th Air Base of the

Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan The Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan ( kk, Қазақстан Республикасының Қарулы Күштері, , russian: Вооружённые силы Республики Казахстан) is the unified armed forces of ...

, one of four fast jet bases in the country with

MiG-31 The Mikoyan MiG-31 (russian: link=no, Микоян МиГ-31; NATO reporting name: Foxhound) is a supersonic interceptor aircraft that was developed for use by the Soviet Air Forces. The aircraft was designed by the Mikoyan design bureau as a ...

Su-27 The Sukhoi Su-27 (russian: Сухой Су-27; NATO reporting name: Flanker) is a Soviet-origin twin-engine supermaneuverable fighter aircraft designed by Sukhoi. It was intended as a direct competitor for the large US fourth-generation jet ...

s and

Su-25 The Sukhoi Su-25 ''Grach'' (russian: Грач (''rook''); NATO reporting name: Frogfoot) is a subsonic, single-seat, twin-engine jet aircraft developed in the Soviet Union by Sukhoi. It was designed to provide close air support for Soviet Gro ...

s. The airport is usually used as the staging area from which returning crewmembers of the

International Space Station The International Space Station (ISS) is the largest modular space station currently in low Earth orbit. It is a multinational collaborative project involving five participating space agencies: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), JAXA ...

are flown to their respective home bases at the

Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center The Yuri A. Gagarin State Scientific Research-and-Testing Cosmonaut Training Center (GCTC; Russian: Центр подготовки космонавтов имени Ю. А. Гагарина) is a Russian training facility responsible for train ...

, the

Johnson Space Center The Lyndon B. Johnson Space Center (JSC) is NASA's center for human spaceflight (originally named the Manned Spacecraft Center), where human spaceflight training, research, and flight control are conducted. It was renamed in honor of the late U ...

or the

European Astronaut Centre The European Astronaut Centre (EAC) (German: Europäisches Astronautenzentrum, French: Centre des astronautes européens), is an establishment of the European Space Agency and home of the European Astronaut Corps. It is near to Cologne, Germany ...

following a traditional welcome ceremony upon landing in their

Soyuz (spacecraft) Soyuz () is a series of spacecraft which has been in service since the 1960s, having made more than 140 flights. It was designed for the Soviet space program by the Korolev Design Bureau (now Energia). The Soyuz succeeded the Voskhod spacecraf ...

capsule.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

Cargo

References

External links

Sary-Arka Airport
* * *
Saryarka – Steppe and Lakes of Northern Kazakhstan
at

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

website {{authority control Airports built in the Soviet Union Airports in Kazakhstan Airport Saryarka Military installations of Kazakhstan Kazakh Air Defense Forces