Sary-Arka Airport (Kazakh: Saryarqa äuejaiy) (IATA: KGF, ICAO: UAKK) is an International airport which serves the city Qarağandy and its satellite town in Kazakhstan. It is located 24 km (15 mi) southeast[1] of the city.
History
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.
On October 27, 1959, near the Karaganda airport in difficult weather conditions (below the airfield's meteorological minimum), a Li-2 plane crashed. One passenger was killed and seven were injured.[3]
On November 29, 2010, a Boeing 747 of the Hong Kong airline Cathay Pacific, flying from Amsterdam to Hong Kong, made an emergency landing at the airport. The cause of the emergency landing was depressurization of the cabin.[4]
