Ilyushin Il-86 at Almaty International Airport in 1996
Early years The airport was built in 1935 for the use of small civil and military aircraft. Till 1990, it was the part of Kazakh Department of Civil Aviation, and then reorganized into "Alma-Ata Airport" in 1991. Since 1993, it has run as an independent business unit. In 1994, it was reorganized into OJSC "Almaty Airport" and later renamed to JSC Almaty International Airport. The main terminal of Almaty International Airport, located at 2 Mailina Street, was originally built in 1973. The building was designed by architects V. P. Ishchenko, O. N. Naumova, Y. G. Litvinenko, and Y. I. Sharapov, with engineering by K. Nurmakova and Z. Sukhanova. In 1979, it was designated a historical monument, reflecting its architectural and cultural significance. The supersonic transport (SST)
Tupolev Tu-144 began service on 26 December 1975, flying mail and freight between Moscow and Alma-Ata in preparation for passenger services, which commenced in November 1977. The Aeroflot flight on 1 June 1978 was the Tu-144's 55th and last scheduled passenger service. Following a runway reconstruction in 1998, Almaty airport was awarded a CAT II certificate and the status of an international airport. On 9–10 July 1999, a fire broke out in the
shashlik kitchen and raged for over seven hours, severely damaging key areas such as the restaurant, waiting room, and duty-free shop. The damage rendered the building unusable, and it was later delisted as a historical monument in 2010.
Development since 2000 Construction of a new terminal was completed in 2004. On 30 September 2008, a second runway was opened with the first departure being a
BMI flight bound for London Heathrow. The new runway was also given an ICAO certificate for CAT III landings which will significantly reduce the number of planes diverting to nearby airfields due to low visibility, especially during the winter months. The runway is the longest in central Asia. The new runway can accept all types of aircraft without limitation of take-off weight and operation frequency. Growth in connectivity is in danger of being compromised by airport infrastructure that is comparatively expensive and not keeping pace with demand growth.
IATA is urging the Kazakhstan government to follow
ICAO principles and eliminate differential
ANSP charges between domestic and international carriers. In 2012, it was 18% more expensive to turn around an
Airbus A320 in Almaty than at similarly sized airports in Europe. The differential rose to 43% for a
Boeing 767. In April 2007, construction began on a new international passenger terminal at Almaty International Airport, designed by the French firm Aeroports de Paris Ingenierie (ADPI). The terminal, inspired by the traditional shape of five yurts, was planned to have six boarding bridges and a capacity of 2,500 passengers per hour. It was part of a larger "Airport City" complex including a Marriott Hotel, conference halls, a business center, and shopping facilities. Located across the airfield from the existing Terminal 1, which was to remain for domestic flights, construction was halted in 2010 following objections from Air Astana. The airline argued that separating terminals would require crossing active runways, causing operational difficulties. A German consulting firm confirmed these concerns and recommended building a new combined terminal to serve both domestic and international flights in a single facility, replacing the partially completed separate terminal. During this period, the terminal was intended to support increased international traffic, including that generated by the
2011 Asian Winter Games, with financing involvement from the
Amsterdam Trade Bank. In 2017, the airport announced plans to demolish the unfinished terminal to construct this new integrated terminal, which would eventually replace or work alongside Terminal 1. On 17 February 2012, in Moscow, at the 32nd session of the Council on Aviation and the Use of Airspace of the Interstate Aviation Committee (IAC), Almaty International Airport was recognized as the best in the CIS and received the prize "For Achievements in the Development of International Airports". Protesters seized the airport on 5 January during the
2022 Kazakh unrest, halting flights. Kazakh President
Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said that eight members of Kazakh security forces had been killed and the insurgents had hijacked five airplanes, and he appealed to Russian security forces to retake the facility. On 7 January,
TASS reported that
Collective Security Treaty Organization troops had occupied the airport and restored order. In May 2022, a proposal was made to Deputy Prime Minister
Roman Sklyar by a group of deputies from the
People's Party of Kazakhstan to name the airport after
Kazakh Soviet communist politician Dinmukhamed Kunaev. To accommodate new terminal construction, the historic VIP terminal was dismantled in late 2022 with plans to reconstruct it away. In 1 June 2024, Terminal 2 at Almaty International Airport opened, increasing the airport's potential capacity to 14 million passengers per year. Kazakhstan's Ministry of Transport says that 15 new international routes to 10 countries will be launched. In 2025, TAV Airports launched the Horizon Investment Project, a comprehensive long-term modernisation plan for Almaty International Airport with a budget of approximately $1.5–1.7 billion. The initial phase (2025–2028) includes runway reconstruction, new taxiways, terminal upgrades, and environmental initiatives such as a reagent recycling system for de-icing fluids. Additional plans feature expanded aircraft parking, a new maintenance hangar, and improved passenger facilities including a hotel and multi-level parking. The project aims to increase the airport’s capacity to 40 million passengers annually by 2050, with future developments including a third runway and a special economic zone for high-tech industries. In 2025, Kazakhstan announced plans to operate new flights to Tokyo starting in February 2026. Direct flights to New York were planned for 2026 but were indefinitely postponed pending new aircraft deliveries and the resolution of restrictions on overflights of Russia. == Terminals ==