APA Issue 2, 2021
EXPANSION ON THE HORIZON With new owners and a capacity doubling new terminal on the way, the future looks bright for Kazakhstan’s Almaty Airport, writes Joe Bates.
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lmaty Airport is under new ownership after a consortium led by global airport operator, TAV Airports, acquired the Kazakhstan gateway earlier this year.
The deal is expected to take Kazakhstan’s gateway to the world to the next level in terms of its facilities, growth potential and ambition to become the undisputed leading hub for Central Asia.
Air Astana’s president and CEO, Peter Foster, certainly believes that TAV’s ownership of Almaty Airport and promise of future investment in new facilities can only be a good thing for the gateway, his airline and Kazakhstan.
A record 6.4 million passengers (+13%) passed through Almaty in 2019 to cement its status as Kazakhstan’s busiest airport, the upward trajectory being helped in no small way by the growth of homebased flag carrier, Air Astana.
“Air Astana welcomes the entry of TAV with whom we work with at several airports around our network, and we look forward to building a solid business relationship with them,” enthuses Foster.
Indeed, Air Astana’s expanding route network and the addition of new international routes have made Almaty Airport (ALA) one of the region’s fastest growing gateways for the last decade. The global pandemic has, of course, had an impact on traffic at Almaty Airport, which saw its passenger numbers drop to 3.6 million in 2020 due to a significant reduction in flights and travel restrictions as a result of COVID-19. However, with traffic levels beginning to rise again, the need for new infrastructure to ensure that the airport
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is capable of meeting anticipated future demand remains very much front and central for ALA’s new owners, who have pledged to invest around $200 million on a new terminal.
DOING THINGS DIFFERENTLY IN ALMATY A member of Groupe ADP, TAV now owns 85% of Almaty Airport and its associated fuel and catering businesses with the Kazakhstan Infrastructure Fund – managed by VPE Capital and backed by Kazyna Capital Management – holding the remaining 15% stake. Almaty is the first airport in TAV’s portfolio where the company actually owns the airport instead of holding a time limited concession. So why has it decided to do things differently in Kazakhstan and break from the concession model that has proved hugely successful for it across the globe over the last 20 years?
