The capital of Kazakhstan has recently been nicknamed the ‘Dubai of the Steppe’, and it’s possible to understand the comparison if you’re prepared to swap extreme heat for cold, as Matteo Legnani found out when he visited Astana’s airport.
KAZAKHSTAN
Astana’s terminal buildings opened in 2005 (T2, above) and 2017 (T1, below). (All photos author)
Until a few years ago, Astana was a relatively unknown city despite being the principal business centre of the world’s ninth-biggest – and largest landlocked – country. It does, however, also hold the title of the coldest capital as, in winter, temperatures can drop to -51°C (-59.8°F). The metropolis – the nation’s fifth-most populous – was not known by its current name until 1998. It had been founded in 1824 as Akmolinsk by a group of Siberian Cossacks from Omsk, Russia, and then became Tselinograd (hence its airport’s code, TSE) when Kazakhstan was a republic of the Soviet Union. After the USSR collapsed the country gained its independence and Tselinograd became Aqmola (‘white mausoleum’ in the local language).
It only got its current name – which means capital – when President Nursaltan Nazarbayev moved the government and parliament north from Almaty in 1997, a change deemed necessary due to seismic activity in the terrain around the old capital and its proximity to the Chinese border. Kazakhstan’s new metropolis rose on the western banks of the river Ishim, with Nazarbayev calling in famous architects to design his presidential palace and the skyscrapers, elegant theatres and eyecatching monuments.
They were complemented by beautiful gardens and up-market hotels, while large residential complexes were built alongside six-lane highways – almost endless avenues with sufficient capacity to deal with the traffic generated by a population that has almost doubled to one million over 20 years.
Following the move of the administration, improved connections to the rest of Kazakhstan became a priority in a country that has limited road and railway infrastructure and covers 1,052,100 square miles (2,724,900km2).
Air travel could reduce a two-day train odyssey to a mere two-hour flight, but in 1998 the core of Air Kazakhstan’s operation was supported by tired Russian aircraft based in the old capital, Almaty. At the time, Astana was only a secondary base, from where international services were limited to Moscow and other cities in the former USSR.
In 2001 a new airline, aptly named Air Astana, was launched to support the nascent demand for foreign travel from the burgeoning new capital. To appeal to customers increasingly demanding all the latest accoutrements of air travel, its new fleet comprised purposely selected Western-built Airbus, Boeing and Fokker aircraft. The new operator inherited flagcarrier status three years later when Air Kazakhstan collapsed, and opened new long-haul links to cities across Europe and Asia.
Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan is the ninth-largest country in the world, but still relatively unknown due to the restrictions Westerners faced in visiting the state while it was an autonomous republic within the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic.
It covers more than a million square miles (2,700,000km2 – roughly the same as Western Europe) and yet it’s inhabited by only 18m people, making it the 64th-most populous country on the globe with a population density of a mere 17 per square mile (6.5/km2). The country lies to both sides of the River Ural – often considered the dividing line between Europe and Asia – and borders Russia, China, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. It was the last of the Soviet republics to declare independence.
Almost a third of Kazakhstan is covered by the Steppe, the world’s largest dry plain, which is primarily grasslands and sand. Kazakhstan is divided into 14 regions, although its two largest cities, Almaty and Astana, are designated as ‘state important’ and are autonomous. The city of Baikonur, home to the Russian cosmodrome, also has special status.
Chief among the country’s exports is oil. Rising production enabled Kazakhstan to pay back its debts to the International Monetary Fund ahead of schedule – the first former Soviet republic to do so – and it now it has the strongest and best performing economy in Central Asia. Agriculture is also important, alongside tourism – which has become more popular since visa restrictions for visitors were lifted at the start of last year.
The ‘yurt’ terminal
As Astana rose from the Steppe – 1,400 miles (2,200km) of flat grassland stretching from the Caspian Sea to the Atlas Mountains – its airport needed upgrading. The original facility opened in 1963, 11 miles (17.5km) southwest of the city centre, and included an unappealing two-storey terminal typical of the Soviet age. Renowned Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa, who’d been responsible for the futuristic Kuala Lumpur International Airport, was hired to design a new building. He selected the traditional yurt – a tent used by nomadic tribes of Central Asia – as a cue, creating a 301,390sq ft (28,000m2) steel and glass structure with a five-floor atrium at its core. A large round glass window at the centre of the building was said to resemble the hole in the top of a yurt, and lets in natural light.
Air Astana has a branded check-in zone. Progression through to the airy departure lounge is usually quick and simple.
The Duty Free area is well stocked with well-known international labels.
The ground floor is primarily used for arrivals, and departing passengers use escalators to reach the check-in desks one level up. Glass elevators offering panoramic views lead to the upper levels, which are occupied by offices. The fifth floor originally formed an enclosed terrace overlooking the apron, but four years ago it was converted into facilities for Air Astana (the airline’s headquarters are in Almaty). Beyond security, two concourses radiate from the central atrium where most of the shops, bars and restaurants are located. Seven aircraft stands are served by airbridges and there’s ample remote parking nearby.
The new terminal opened in February 2005 and handled 834,000 passengers during its first full year of operations. In 2007 throughput increased by an impressive 40% to 1,171,000, although it was still well short of the building’s 3m ppa capacity. Growth slowed significantly during the global financial crisis at the end of the decade, but traffic then rebounded and reached 3,366,560 by 2015. By then, Astana had been selected to host the 2017 World Expo, and development of another new ‘front door’ for the country began.
The rise of Terminal 1
Work on what would become Terminal 1 (the 2005 building became T2) started in the spring of 2015. Another symbol of the country – waves on the Caspian Sea – was used as the main theme for its undulating roof. The 505,900sq ft (47,000m2) structure was built by Swiss company Malcolm Construction at a planned cost of 60bn Kazakh Tenge (KZT, around £135m). The Kazakh Republic provided KZT29bn (£64m) of the budget; KZT17bn came in the form of a loan from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development; and KZT14bn was financed by the Kazakhstan Temir Zholy (the company that owns the nation’s railways). But overruns occurred, the local press reporting that the eventual cost of the project amounted to KZT86bn (£192m).
Italian Paolo Ricciotti became chairman of the board at Astana International Airport in July 2016. As the first non-Kazakh citizen to head a public company in the country, the national parliament had to approve his appointment. Ricciotti started his aviation career with Nigeria Airways in 1974 and then worked for Cathay Pacific, Aeroporti di Milano and Astra Air before arriving in Kazakhstan in 2012 to become Director of Ground Services at Air Astana.
He gave Airports of the World a tour of the new terminal, starting in the baggage handling area, explaining that the system – capable of handling 1,200 pieces of luggage per hour – was the first in the country to be built below surface level, to maximise space on the ground floor.
“This helped us arrange both the 26 checkin desks in the departure area, and arrivals with three carousels”, he said. We continued around the attractive glass and steel four-level building. The two upper floors are dedicated to departures and lounges, bars and restaurants – but the secret, Ricciotti said, is the mezzanine, “where we created an interchange between the old and the new buildings in order to use both for domestic and international flights, without the need to move aircraft on the apron”.
This also helps maximise the use of the airbridges – there are six in T1 and seven in T2 – an important consideration, especially during the harsh winters. But the highlight of T1, as far as Ricciotti is concerned, is the 32,345sq ft (3,005m2) boarding lounge from which all the gates can be accessed. Its roof and an undulating, wooden ceiling are supported by treeshaped pillars, and glass sides flood the space with natural light. The area also affords uninterrupted views of the airport’s operations.
Shops already open in the departure lounge include a large duty-free outlet and kiosks stocked with local products. More stores are scheduled to open ahead of the 2018 summer season. On the fourth floor is an area dedicated to commercially important passengers, alongside a bar and the ‘Yurt’ restaurant, and Air Astana will soon open its own 4,910sq ft (456m2) business class lounge nearby.
The 9,190sq ft (854m2) facility includes wooden floors, elegant leather sofas and armchairs plus designer light features. Its dining area will offer choices of cold and hot plates plus a selection of local wines (Kazakhstan, although predominantly Islamic, does not prohibit alcohol). A working area furnished with PCs and printers, and toilets with shower rooms, complete the amenities of what the airline believes will be a world-class lounge. The eastern part of T1 has been dedicated to VIP services: used by executives, celebrities and senior officials, the area is also accessible by the public for a fee. It includes a waiting lounge, dedicated check-in desks, security checkpoints and passport control kiosks.
Astana Airport has become popular with travellers using private jets, and during 2016 more than 30 such movements occurred every day. This traffic is directed to another facility on the western side of the apron, which also has a spacious waiting area with its own security and border control services as well as a conference room and four private lounges with en-suite bathrooms and showers and fully-equipped kitchens. “Our guests arriving in their own plane can organise meetings or conferences in maximum comfort and privacy without the need to reach the city, and then leave as soon as they need”, explained airport spokesperson Lyudmila Kopeichuk.
Ups and downs
The rapidly rising growth in traffic passing through TSE between 2010 and 2015 came to an abrupt halt in 2016, after the Kazakh Tenge was devalued. In just 24 hours between August 20 and August 21, 2015 the currency lost almost a quarter of its value, which drastically cut demand for air travel to international destinations.
Although the year closed with a minor increase in overall throughput, it provided 22 months’ breathing space for the airport to finish the work on its new terminal, which opened on June 5 last year. Twelve days later the building was dedicated to President Nazarbayev.
In 2017, 4,294,737 passengers passed through the doors, 25% more than the previous year. Particularly impressive was the rise in international traffic, which increased by 41% – driven in part by four new airlines, including the first low-cost carrier to serve Kazakhstan, which launched operations in a span of just four weeks during the lead up to the opening of the World Expo on June 1.
In May, LOT Polish Airlines started a fourtimes weekly rotation from Warsaw using Boeing 737-800s and Air China a thriceweekly service from Beijing with A320s. Finnair and Wizz Air both started two-daysa- week flights from Helsinki and Budapest and Budapest respectively.
Excepting Beijing, which was already served by Air Astana, these were new routes for TSE and brought the number of cities served non-stop to 49 (19 domestic and 30 international). Six domestic and 17 foreign carriers now serve the airport. The undisputed leader of the pack, however, is the Kazakh national carrier, Air Astana. During the 2017-18 winter schedule it had 46% of the planned aircraft movements, amounting to 235 weekly departures to ten domestic and 20 international destinations.
Terminal 2’s atrium stands out.
Air Astana and Qazaq Air provide flights to most major cities in the region
Its main competitor is SCAT Airlines, which links to 11 cities within Kazakhstan plus Yerevan in Armenia and Kazan and Mineralnye Vody in Russia. The four other Kazakh carriers serve only domestic destinations: Bek Air uses Fokker 100s, Qazaq Air flies brand new Dash8-400s, while Zhetysu and Yuzhnoe Nebo still employ former Soviet types.
The leading foreign airline in terms of 50 airports of the world seats offered is Aeroflot, which flies the daily trunk route from Moscow Sheremetyevo with a 737-800 or A321. The only other international carrier serving TSE on a daily basis is Belavia, from Minsk; the rest of the timetable includes a mix of Western, Asian and former CIS states’ operators.
The future
At present, those needing to transfer between the airport and the city are limited to using private cars, taxies or buses. This will change during the summer, when a 14-mile (23km) light railway opens. Although the original intention was that it would open in time to support the World Expo, it will have 28 stations and connect the terminals at TSE to Astana’s Central Station, the financial district, the old town and areas where new residential developments are being built. Last year, traffic at TSE exceeded 4m passengers for the first time in its history. But this year, without the Expo effect, numbers could drop. The current reality is that T1 is extremely quiet during most of the day, and the airport is operating well below its maximum capability of around 8.5m ppa.
Airport Statistics
IATA Code: UACC
ICAO Code: TSE
Location: N51°1.35’ E71°27.97’
Elevation: 1,165ft (355m)
Runway: 04/22 11,483 x 148ft (3,500 x 45m)
Frequencies: Approach 124.60
Tower 118.70
Website: www.astanaairport.com
An aerial view of Astana Airport. (Wikimedia Commons / Yuri Danilevsky)
Astana’s distinctive tower.
LOT Polish Airlines Boeing 737- 89P SP-LWB (c/n 32800) arrives from Warsaw.
SCAT Airlines Boeing 737-522 LY-AWE (c/n 26684) parked on a contact stand between flights
Ricciotti explained: “We have typically a traffic peak between 3.30 and 7am, when most of the long-haul flights from Europe and the Far East arrive, and then depart again. After that, things get very relaxed for the rest of the day except between 6 and 8pm, when there’s a rush of domestic departures and arrivals.
“We would like a better distribution of traffic throughout the day; and of course, to increase our numbers.” The airport chairman knows that Astana’s status as the nation’s capital represents an opportunity for TSE, as well as a constraint: “We can’t pretend to intercept the traffic between London and Hong Kong or Paris and Tokyo, because those ‘world capitals’ are already connected by direct flights. “And neither can we become another Dubai, Doha or Istanbul – to name three mega-hubs that connect Europe to Far East Asia.
“But we aim to develop into the hub for Central Asia, connecting those gigantic metropolises to the many capitals and cities of the region – for example, linking Hong Kong to Dushanbe [in Tajikistan], Beijing to Omsk [Russia], or Paris to Ulanbaatar [Mongolia]. That’s a task we’ve started, but are still far from accomplishing.”
Further development
That strategy, of course, needs support from national carrier Air Astana. The growth in the airline’s point-to-point network and fleet has been below the expectations of the management at TSE so far, and the airline’s focus on both Astana and Almaty has not helped their case. The chairman and his team believe TSE is playing its part. After the opening of T1, they have another major infrastructure development on the table: the complete rebuilding of 11,483ft-long (3,500m) Runway 04/22. “After 20 years of extreme thermal excursions, with temperatures exceeding 35°C (95°F) in the summer and regularly as low as -35°C (-31°F) during the coldest winter months, the asphalt lost its flexibility and presents some cracks here and there”, explained Ricciotti.
“The plan is to build an entirely new strip 2,300ft (700m) to the southwest of the existing one, which will then be refurbished and kept as a taxiway or auxiliary runway as part of our contingency plan.” Work for the £90m new 04/22 will start in spring 2019 and the project should be complete in October 2020. Ricciotti added: “Due to the frequent and abundant snowfalls, the rigid temperatures and the hard, icy soil, we will only be able to work during the warmer months, and two summers will be necessary to finish it.”
The author thanks Lyudmila Kopeichuk at Astana Airport for her help in preparing this article.
