Şymkent International Airport

History

Foundation and early years

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.

Development since the 2000s

Following the signing of an agreement in November 2012 by the governments of France and Kazakhstan, Şymkent Airport was made available to French personnel withdrawing from Afghanistan. After arriving on French aircraft, military weaponry was carried from the airport by train to Europe. 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 on Kazakhstan's railroad.

The airport experienced a 20% increase in passenger traffic, rising from 440,000 passengers in 2014 to 520,000 passengers in 2017.

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

| Aeroflot | Moscow–Sheremetyevo | Air Astana | Almaty, Jeddah Seasonal charter: Doha | FlyArystan | Almaty, Aqtau, Aqtöbe, Astana, Atyrau, Qostanai, Oral, Öskemen, Semei Seasonal: Kutaisi | flydubai | Dubai–International | Pegasus Airlines | Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen Seasonal: Antalya | Qazaq Air | Almaty, Astana, Jezqazğan | S7 Airlines | Novosibirsk |SCAT Airlines | Almaty, Aqtau, Atyrau, Aqtöbe, Astana, Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Budapest, Cairo, Istanbul, Kökşetau, Krasnoyarsk-International, Moscow–Vnukovo, Munich, Seoul–Incheon, Shanghai–Pudong, Tbilisi, Ürümqi, Xi'an Seasonal: Petropavl | Sunday Airlines | Seasonal charter: Antalya, Sharm El Sheikh

Accidents and incidents

Main article: 1996 Charkhi Dadri mid-air collision

On 12 November 1996, Kazakhstan Airlines Flight 1907, an IL-76TD which took off from Şymkent International Airport collided with Saudia Flight 763, a Boeing 747 which took off from Indira Gandhi International Airport, in the air over Charkhi 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 ever mid-air collision involving two aircraft.

References

References

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