Usharal Airport guide

Usharal Airport is a small domestic aerodrome in the Alakol District of the Zhetysu Region, in south-eastern Kazakhstan. It sits about 5 km west of Usharal town, near the Dzungarian Gates and the Chinese border.

The field began in 1970 as a military airbase. Until 1992 the 27th fighter aviation regiment flew MiG-21 jets from it, and the airfield also handled regular civilian flights from Almaty and Taldykorgan on Yak-40 aircraft. Civilian seasonal flights restarted on 21 July 2017.

The airport is used mainly in the summer holiday season. Since 2018, a government subsidy for domestic tourism has supported direct flights from Almaty that serve the sanatoriums and resorts on the shores of Lake Alakol. The single asphalt runway, 10/28, is 2,200 m long. The runway, taxiway and apron were reconstructed in 2021 and 2022. The terminal opened in 2017 with 800 m2 of floor space and handles about 50 passengers an hour. Ground services run in the mornings, with limited operating hours.