The initial airport was built in 1934, on a site at the edge of the city centre, and moved further out to its current location in 1944. The old terminal building on Shturman Street still stands, now occupied as a bus terminal and a market for car parts. In 1980 it underwent major reconstructions, including the construction of a new terminal building and the modernization of the runway. This made the landing of heavier aircraft possible, which allowed a gateway to many new destinations in the
Soviet Union. In 1992, the airport was granted international status. It has become an independent
joint stock company after the separation from JSC "Karagandaavia" in 1997. It is not related to
Saryarka – Steppe and Lakes of Northern Kazakhstan on the
World Heritage List. Sary-Arka Airport is home to the 610th Air Base of the
Armed Forces of the Republic of Kazakhstan, one of four fast jet bases in the country with
MiG-31s,
Su-27s and
Su-25s. The airport is usually used as a staging area, from which the returning crewmembers of the
International Space Station are flown to their respective home bases at the
Yuri Gagarin Cosmonaut Training Center, the
Johnson Space Center or the
European Astronaut Centre following a traditional welcome ceremony upon landing in their
Soyuz (spacecraft) capsule. == Accidents ==