Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport , alternatively referred by its previous name as Astana International Airport until 2017 (or simply Astana Airport), is the international airport serving Astana, Kazakhstan, the capital and second most populous city in the country. It is the primary aviation hub for northern Kazakhstan. Regionally, it stands as the third-busiest international air passenger gateway into Central Asia (after Almaty International Airport (ALA) and Islam Karimov Tashkent International Airport in Uzbekistan). The airport is also the second-busiest airport in Kazakhstan and the 9th busiest in the Post-Soviet states in terms of total passenger traffic, air traffic movements and total cargo handled, with 8,315,108 passengers served in 2024 (10,18% year over year increase). On average, the airport handles more than 200 departures a day.
It is located in the Esil administrative subdivision of Astana, south-east of the city centre. The airport features two passenger terminals and single runway along with cargo and maintenance facilities. The airport's passenger domestic terminal (T2; 2000–05) is a well-known landmark designed by the late Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa, who also designed the original terminal at Kuala Lumpur International Airport.
It serves as the secondary large hub for the national flag carrier of Kazakhstan – Air Astana, including its low-cost subsidiary – FlyArystan, the homebase for Qazaq Air, and is the primary operating base for SCAT Airlines and was also formerly a hub for Starlines Kazakhstan and Tselinograd OAO. The airport is operated by state-owned JSC "Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport" which also operates Kokshetau Airport in Akmola Region.
The facility was established in 1930 and began operating as a public airport in 1931 as Akmolinsk Airport then, as the city changed its name, renamed as Tselinograd Airport and then as Astana International Airport. The airport was given its current name by the Kazakhstan government in June 2017, in honour of former President of Kazakhstan (1990 – 2019) Nursultan Nazarbayev, under whose presidency it was constructed and inaugurated. On 8 June 2020 the airport officially changed its three-character IATA airport code from TSE to NQZ. It has been recognised as the 'Best Regional Airport in Central Asia and CIS' at the Skytrax World Airport Awards 2022. The airport provides year-round non-stop flights to airports throughout Kazakhstan and to Central Asia, the Middle East, the Caucasus, Europe, Russia, and China.
Location Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport is south-east of Astana city centre. It is bordered by the village of Kyzylsuat to the west, Maybalyk lake to the north, and the city of Qosshy in Akmola Region to the east.
Management of the airport lies solely on the authority of state-owned JSC "Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport" (formerly JSC "Astana International Airport"), which also directly manages Kokshetau Airport (located in Akmola Region from Astana). Previously, the Astana Airport was operated by Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad ("MAHB") under the Trust Deed.
History Establishment and early operational history The airport was built in 1930, three kilometers from Akmolinsk (now Astana) within the area of today's modern architectural tower of Baiterek. There was a square field for aircraft take-off and landing, an adobe 8-room station with a small waiting hall, a two-room house for pilots, and fuel storage on the airport grounds. In December 1931, the first airfield of Astana was built on the outskirts of the town and was developed further after World War II. Regular air traffic was established between Semipalatinsk and Akmolinsk (day of enterprise establishment).
During times of flooding, the aerodrome was closed. Communication between the aerodrome and the city was by phone, ferry (there was no bridge over Ishim River), and footpath. In the first few years, the air traffic was ad-hoc by character, with loose timetables, such as "Aircraft departure on Monday morning" or "On Wednesday at sunrise". Transportation of passengers, mail, and cargo was carried out by Kalinin K-4, Kalinin K-5, Polikarpov R-5, Petlyakov Pe-2 aircraft. Regular flights were established in 1934, with the following routes: Alma-Ata – Karaganda – Akmolinsk – Atbasar – Kostanay – Sverdlovsk. Karaganda – Petropavlovsk – Korgalzhyn – Akmolinsk.
At the beginning of 1946, the first group of Polikarpov Po-2 aircraft arrived in Akmolinsk for regular service. The group belonged to a Karaganda aviation enterprise. The following routes were opened for passenger and mail transportation: Akmolinsk – Korgalzhyn – Aksu – Astrakhanka – Balkashino (settlements of Akmolinsk Region). The operations division was organized consisting of two people. In 1946, aviation began to render services for the national economy – medical aviation. From 1947 to 1948, a fleet of three Polikarpov Po-2 aircraft was formed at the Akmolinsk Airport base. This fleet was part of an air group that was based in Karaganda. The airport was equipped with modern equipment (for the time), construction development has started: a Finnish house for a radio station, three buildings and a garage were built. The total number of staff numbered 40 to 50 people. The airport began servicing heavier types of aircraft such as Lisunov Li-2 in addition to light aircraft.
1960 to 2000 On 16 October 1960 Akmolinsk Airport was upgraded to the status of a third-class airport. In 1960, Akmolinsk Airport received its first aircraft, the LI-2, and commenced regular flights along the routes of Akmolinsk – Stepnogorsk and Akmolinsk – Kustanai. On 4 November 1963 Tselinograd Airport (formerly known as Akmolinsk) accepted the first Ilyushin Il-18 aircraft in the new terminal, located 18 kilometers from the city.
In December 1963, Ilyushin Il-18 aircraft began to operate regular flights. The airport terminal was at a building stage, therefore the adapted two-story building served as the air terminal, where the air traffic control service had been located. In February 1966, the new air terminal was transferred into operation. In June of the same year, all services of United Aviagroup relocated to the new airport. By 1969, the aircraft park of Tselinograd aviagroup was replenished with the first Antonov An-24 aircraft. With the arrival of the Antonov An-24, the volume of passenger, mail, and cargo transportation sharply increased. People began to fly to many cities of the former Soviet Union. In 1975, the Tupolev Tu-154 first landed in the airport. After that, regular flights by Tupolev Tu-154 on the Alma-Ata – Tselinograd – Moscow route were started.
The historical mark for Akmola (Astana) aviators was the change of the capital in 1998. Airdrome reconstruction begun and finished in a relatively short time: the runway with artificial covering was extended for about 3500 meters; the taxiway and apron were also expanded by April 1998. Lighting systems and radio navigation equipment were replaced. The VIP building was constructed, and the airport complex was reconstructed (today known as Terminal 2). The final estimated cost of the project was ¥35.1 billion Japanese yen (JPY).
2000 onwards On 2 February 2005 a large-scale international airport reconstruction project was completed with the opening of the new 25,000 square-meter passenger terminal. The ceremonial opening of the international terminal was attended by the President of Kazakhstan, Nursultan Nazarbayev. The number of check-in counters was increased to 24 along with two luggage straps. Currently, the Terminal 2 is used to service domestic flights. On 28 November 2007, the airport welcomed its one millionth passenger. On 17 January 2008, the airport received the International Civil Aviation Organization category IIIA certification.
On 30 November 2012, Astana International Airport achieved a significant milestone by welcoming its two millionth passenger. On 19 November 2015, the 2,400 square-meter Business Aviation Terminal was opened. The BAT area has a 200-passenger per hour capacity. The airport is the secondary hub of Air Astana, the Republic of Kazakhstan's flag carrier, as well as FlyArystan, a low-cost airline established in 2018.
Within the framework of the Infrastructure Development Program, a new passenger terminal for international flights was built in 2017. A new terminal of 47,000 square meters adds six new aircraft parking lots with landing sleeves and four bus landing routes to the airport infrastructure and also includes a variety of technologies and processes designed to improve the quality of service at the airport. "N" stands for Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport, as well as the name of the Kazakh capital of Astana. "QZ" is an acronym for Qazaqstan (Kazakhstan) according to the new version of Kazakh alphabet based on Latin script. On 1 July 2019 ePassenger software was introduced at Nursultan Nazarbayev Airport in terminals T1 and T2. On 29 November 2019 a transition gallery was opened at Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport, connecting terminals T1 and T2 for international and domestic departures. Spanning 1000 square meters with a length of 90 meters, the gallery enables seamless movement between terminals without the need to exit onto the street. In 2020, the airport established itself as a prominent transit hub for humanitarian and cargo flights originating from Southeast Asia and heading towards Europe. On 30 July 2021 the airport launched its own mobile app called "NQZ." On 1 December 2021 Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport celebrated its 90th anniversary.
Route development In 1995, Transaero conducted its inaugural flight on the Astana-Moscow route, connecting the then-capital Akmola with the Russian capital. This marked the first instance of a foreign airline establishing air communication with the future capital of Kazakhstan. Transaero operated flights on this route until 15 December 2015, when it was succeeded by Russia's national carrier, Aeroflot. Aeroflot now operates 14 weekly flights to Astana. In September 1998, Austrian Airlines launched flights to its hub at Vienna International Airport (IATA: VIE). In March 2017, Austrian Airlines canceled its Vienna–Astana operations. In May 2002, Air Astana opened its first route to Almaty using Boeing 737. Now the airline is one of the largest operators at the airport. Turkish Airlines opened a connection to Istanbul on 19 October 2005. From 1 April 2024, the airline is operating Airbus A330-200/-300 on this route.
The first scheduled Lufthansa German Airlines's flight to Frankfurt began in 2006. Starting from 26 March 2006, Lufthansa has been offering three weekly intercontinental long-haul flights from Astana to Frankfurt Airport (IATA: FRA), the major business hub in Germany. These flights are operated using Airbus A340-300 aircraft, which is the largest commercial aircraft visiting Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport regularly. The service resulted in partnership between Air Astana and Lufthansa.