Şymkent International Airport Halyqaralyq Şymkent Äuejaiy (Kazakh) | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Summary | |||||||||||||||||||
| Airport type | Public/Military | ||||||||||||||||||
| Operator | JSC "Şymkent International Airport" | ||||||||||||||||||
| Serves | Şymkent | ||||||||||||||||||
| Location | 12.6 km (7.8 mi) NW ofŞymkent Railway Station, Kazakhstan | ||||||||||||||||||
| Hub for | SCAT Airlines | ||||||||||||||||||
| Elevation AMSL | 422 m / 1,385 ft | ||||||||||||||||||
| Coordinates | 42°21′54″N069°28′34″E / 42.36500°N 69.47611°E /42.36500; 69.47611 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Website | www.airserver.kz | ||||||||||||||||||
| Maps | |||||||||||||||||||
![]() Interactive map of Şymkent International Airport | |||||||||||||||||||
| Runways | |||||||||||||||||||
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| Source:AIP Kazakhstan[1] | |||||||||||||||||||
Şymkent International Airport (Kazakh:Halyqaralyq Şymkent Äuejaiy) (IATA:CIT,ICAO:UAII) is aninternational airport servingShymkent,Kazakhstan. It has two passenger terminals and one runway. It serves as the main hub forSCAT Airlines, handling a large part of the airline's flights.
The airport was established on an agricultural airbase constructed in 1932. The airport started managing both passenger and freight traffic in 1933. The runway and passenger terminal of the airport were completed in 1967 after the airport was relocated to its current position in 1963.[citation needed]
Following the signing of an agreement in November 2012 by the governments ofFrance andKazakhstan, Şymkent Airport was made available to French personnel withdrawing fromAfghanistan. After arriving on French aircraft, military weaponry was carried from the airport by train toEurope. In order to guarantee the transshipment operations at Şymkent Airport,France was to provide the funding for the construction of the infrastructure required for the temporary bond storage and the space needed for stricter customs checks. Additionally, it paid for the purchase or rental of loading vehicles, to accelerate wagon loading, construction of a 400 m (1,300 ft) hard-surface road, and the protection of freight in temporary storage and during transportation onKazakhstan's railroad.[citation needed]
The airport experienced a 20% increase in passenger traffic, rising from 440,000 passengers in 2014 to 520,000 passengers in 2017.[2][clarification needed]
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Aeroflot | Moscow–Sheremetyevo[3] |
| Air Astana | Almaty,Jeddah[4] Seasonal charter:Doha (begins 30 December 2025)[5] |
| FlyArystan | Almaty,Aqtau,Aqtöbe,Astana,Atyrau,Qostanai,Oral,Öskemen,Semei Seasonal:Kutaisi[6] |
| flydubai | Dubai–International[7][8] |
| Pegasus Airlines | Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen[9] Seasonal:Antalya[10] |
| Qazaq Air | Almaty,Astana,Jezqazğan[11] |
| S7 Airlines | Novosibirsk[12] |
| SCAT Airlines | Almaty,Aqtau,Atyrau,[13]Aqtöbe,[14]Astana,Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi (begins 15 December 2025),[15]Budapest,[16]Cairo,[14]Istanbul,Kökşetau,[17]Krasnoyarsk-International (begins 25 December 2025),[18]Moscow–Vnukovo,Munich,[19]Seoul–Incheon,[20]Shanghai–Pudong,[21]Tbilisi (begins 15 December 2025),[13]Ürümqi,[22]Xi'an[23] Seasonal:Petropavl[24] |
| Sunday Airlines | Seasonal charter:Antalya,[citation needed]Sharm El Sheikh[citation needed] |
On November 12, 1996, Kazakhstan Airlines Flight 1907, anIL-76TD which took off from Şymkent International Airport collided with Saudia Flight 763, aBoeing 747 which took off fromIndira Gandhi International Airport, in the air overCharkhi Dadri, Haryana, India. All 289 passengers and 23 crew on Flight 763 and all 27 passengers and 10 crew on Flight 1907 were killed. A total of 349 people died, making it the deadliest evermid-air collision involving two aircraft.[25]
Media related toShymkent International Airport at Wikimedia Commons