Astana pursues Central Asia hub status with new terminal
Neelam Mathews Jun 13 2017 The new USD195 million Terminal 1 (T1) at Astana International Airport was officially opened by Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev on 31 May, before the three-month Expo 2017 began on 10 June. 1699820 Paolo Ricciotti, chairman of Astana International Airport. ( Neelam Mathews) The new terminal went operational on 5 June with the initial transfer of all international airlines apart from Air Astana, which will be transferred at a later stage of operations. Air Astana is to use the airport as a hub, as will fast-growing SCAT Airlines (the second-largest airline in Kazakhstan ). The new terminal is an element of the State Programme of Infrastructure Development 2015-2019. As the only airport serving the capital of Kazakhstan , Astana International is fully state-owned and managed by the Airport Management Group, a 100% subsidiary of Kazakh Railways. Paolo Ricciotti, chairman of Astana ....more on Janes ..