--- iata: ALA name: Almaty International Airport city: Almaty country: Kazakhstan lastUpdated: '2026-09-20' officialWebsite: 'https://www.alaport.com/' sources: - 'https://www.alaport.com/' - 'https://alaport.com/en/contact' - 'https://tavairports.com/tav-airports-reports-2025-full-year-results' - 'https://www.kap.org.tr/en/api/file/download/4028328c9b82727b019b9d6e960c0522' - 'https://help.airastana.com/hc/en-gb/sections/4418248283666-Check-in-rules' - >- https://help.airastana.com/hc/en-gb/articles/4417972348306-What-services-are-offered-in-business-lounges - >- https://tavoperationservices.com/en-EN/services/lounges/business-lounge-extime-almaty-international-airport-international-main - 'https://www.dragonpass.com/explore/lounge/A23219/N05017' - 'https://www.prioritypass.com/en-GB/lounges/kazakhstan/almaty-international' - 'https://egov.kz/cms/en/articles/exit-entry_of_foreign_nationals' - 'https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/kazakhstan/entry-requirements' - 'https://egov.kz/cms/en/articles/rules-for-importing-goods' - 'https://alatransit.kz/en/content/route-scheme' - 'https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Almaty_International_Airport' - >- https://astanatimes.com/2025/09/air-astana-to-relocate-domestic-flight-check-in-to-terminal-2-at-almaty-airport/ - >- https://en.tengrinews.kz/kazakhstan_news/check-in-procedures-change-for-air-astana-passengers-at-269388/ - >- https://infohub.kz/en/article/almaty-airport-modernization-new-entrance-terminal - >- https://tengrinews.kz/my-country/dengi-berut-parkovatsya-negde-aeroportu-almatyi-otvetili-529124/ - >- https://moodiedavittreport.com/tav-airports-unveils-us200-million-almaty-airport-terminal-atu-duty-free-opens-3400sqm-space/ quickFacts: - >- Almaty International (IATA ALA / ICAO UAAA), Mailin St 2, Almaty 050039. Operator TAV Airports since April 2021. Elevation 681 m / 2,234 ft. About 15 km north-east of the centre. - >- 11,930,941 passengers in 2025 (TAV FY25: 5,462,379 international / 6,468,562 domestic, +4%). TAV leftover 11,426,790 is 2024. Wikipedia leftover 11,426,650 is leftover-conflicting 2024. T2 leftover 14 million is capacity, not a year. - >- Live campus 20 Sep 2026: Terminal 2 (opened 1 June 2024) international; Terminal 1 domestic, still under reconstruction (mayor inspection 19 Aug 2026 — main works targeted end of September 2026). Indoor landside bridge between halls. No airside walk. No metro. - >- Two live runways 05L/23R 4,500 × 60 m and 05R/23L 4,400 × 60 m concrete (Wikipedia AIP). Routes leftover 45 m width is leftover-conflicting. Hub Air Astana, FlyArystan, Qazaq Air, Sunday Airlines. - >- No Priority Pass listing on prioritypass.com this pass. Extime Business Lounge is DragonPass / LoungeKey / TAV Passport / walk-in leftover 35,000 KZT. Air Astana Shanyraq is cabin/status only. - >- Visa-free 30 days for 54 countries including UK/US/EU ordinary passports (egov.kz, updated 1 Jul 2026), max 90 days in any 180. Bus 92 Onay leftover 120 KZT. Yandex Go / inDrive — Uber is not the local product. bentoTips: - label: Timing title: Air Astana international desks open 3 hours and die at 60 minutes detail: >- Air Astana Sep 2025 leftover put domestic check-in in T2 counters 14–25 (bags 14–15) while T1 is rebuilt, then the indoor corridor to T1 security and boarding. Confirm the hall the day you fly — August 2026 city inspection still had T1 reconstruction running. summary: >- Help Centre: domestic check-in 2 hours–40 minutes; international 3 hours–60 minutes. Online leftover 36 hours–40 minutes on the Sep 2025 T1 overlay. Carriage rules leftover 40-minute close-out is leftover-conflicting — sit the Help Centre plus the airline’s day-of notice. category: timing - label: Terminal title: International is Terminal 2 — T1 is the older domestic hall under rebuild detail: >- Do not copy leftover guides that still send international passengers into the 2003 T1 check-in hall. Air Astana leftover Sep 2025 is the exception: some domestic KC desks were in T2 during the T1 works. SCAT / FlyArystan / Qazaq Air leftover that week stayed in T1. summary: >- Terminal 2 opened 1 June 2024 for international (50 check-in desks 01–52 on the live FIDS). Terminal 1 is domestic. They are not connected airside. A T2 boarding pass cannot walk to a T1 gate. category: terminal - label: Water title: Lounge water if you have access — buy a sealed bottle in T2 if not detail: >- Skip leftover SEO tenge bottle prices. A Trip.com leftover fountain in front of a duty-free restroom is a traveler report, not an operator map. Landside Alaport Cafe (April 2024 T1 photo) sells sealed drinks before you clear security. summary: >- TAV does not publish an airside fountain map or a bottle tariff. Extime / Shanyraq water is the quality pick with access. Otherwise buy a sealed bottle airside in Terminal 2 near ATÜ Duty Free by the Gate 201–203 signs. category: food - label: Lounge title: No Priority Pass — Extime Business or Air Astana Shanyraq detail: >- SEO aggregators leftover-claiming Priority Pass at Extime are leftover-unconfirmed. Check the app. Showers at Extime leftover 7,000 KZT extra; Shanyraq showers are included. summary: >- prioritypass.com has no ALA lounge this pass. DragonPass, LoungeKey, DreamFolks and TAV Passport open the Extime Business Lounge on the T2 mezzanine (24/7, max 3 hours, walk-in leftover 35,000 KZT). Shanyraq is Air Astana J / Economy Sleeper / Nomad Gold and Diamond only. category: status lounges: - name: Extime Business Lounge zone: 'Airside mezzanine after passport control and security, lifts on the left' hours: 24/7; stay capped at 3 hours access: - DragonPass - LoungeKey - TAV Passport - 'Pay at the door leftover 35,000 KZT' - Contracted airline business class bestFor: - >- International passengers without Air Astana status who will pay or hold DragonPass / LoungeKey - Overnight long-hauls — the room is 24/7 summary: >- The only airside international room most travelers can actually enter. TAV OS: mezzanine after passport control, 24/7, max 3 hours, infants under 2 free. Not Priority Pass this pass. verdict: worth-it terminal: Terminal 2 amenities: - 'Hot/cold buffet and bar (beer, wine, spirits leftover)' - 'Chargeable showers leftover 7,000 KZT' - >- Luggage lockers, kids' play area, smoking room, meeting room leftover 22,500 KZT/hour - Airport Wi-Fi (no dedicated lounge SSID leftover) - name: Air Astana Shanyraq Lounge zone: >- Airside Level 2 opposite Gate 201, lifts on the right after passport control hours: 24 hours daily (LoungePair / Sleeping in Airports leftover) access: - Air Astana business class - Air Astana Economy Sleeper - Nomad Club Gold - Nomad Club Diamond bestFor: - >- Air Astana business, Economy Sleeper, or Nomad Gold/Diamond on a Terminal 2 international departure summary: >- Flag-carrier room opposite Gate 201. Airline Help Centre: Business Class invitation/boarding pass or Nomad Gold/Diamond. No published walk-up tariff. Not Priority Pass, not DragonPass. verdict: worth-it terminal: Terminal 2 amenities: - Live cooking station and Central Asian buffet leftover including lagman - Two shower suites included - Rest zone - name: Extime VIP Lounge International Departures zone: 'Street-level VIP, not the airside mezzanine Business Lounge' hours: 24/7 leftover access: - 'Pay at the door leftover 35,000–95,000 KZT depending on hall' bestFor: - Passengers who will pay to skip the main T2 hall entirely summary: >- Separate Extime VIP product with a street entrance, not the DragonPass Business Lounge upstairs. Forbes.kz leftover 16 Oct 2024: 35–95 thousand tenge by hall. A T2 airside boarding pass is not this door. Not Priority Pass. verdict: depends terminal: Terminal 2 amenities: - Private check-in and security leftover - Escort to the aircraft leftover waterOptions: - kind: free name: Shanyraq lounge water zone: airside price: Included with Air Astana J / Economy Sleeper / Nomad Gold or Diamond summary: >- Poured or sealed water once you are in the Shanyraq. Quality pick if you already hold cabin or status access. location: >- Air Astana Shanyraq Lounge, Level 2 opposite Gate 201 after the right-hand lifts terminal: Terminal 2 isBestQuality: true - kind: free name: Extime Business Lounge water zone: airside price: >- Included with DragonPass, LoungeKey, TAV Passport, or leftover 35,000 KZT walk-in summary: >- Lounge water if you paid or hold a programme pass. Same building as ATÜ Duty Free, not Terminal 1. location: >- Extime Business Lounge, Terminal 2 mezzanine after passport control, lifts on the left terminal: Terminal 2 - kind: purchase name: Terminal 2 airside sealed bottle zone: airside price: Buy a sealed bottle — no posted KZT tariff summary: >- Certainty pick because TAV does not publish a fountain map or a bottle price. Skip leftover SEO tenge figures. location: Airside Terminal 2 shops at ATÜ Duty Free under the Gate 201–203 signs terminal: Terminal 2 isBestValue: true airportistScore: 7.1 slug: ala region: Asia-Pacific --- > Markdown for [/airports/ala](/airports/ala). Append `.md` to any page URL (or send `Accept: text/markdown`) for an agent-readable copy. - [HTML page](/airports/ala) - [Lounge directory](/airports/ala/lounges.md) - [Sitemap](/sitemap.md) # Almaty International Airport (ALA) Almaty, Kazakhstan · Asia-Pacific Almaty’s two-hall hub: international lives in 2024 Terminal 2, bus 92 is 120 tenge, Uber is not a thing, and 11.93 million is 2025 traffic — not T2’s 14-million capacity leftover. ## Airportist Score **7.1 / 10** Weighted sum of the six published categories (no holistic fudge). - Ease of use (25%): 7.0 — Wayfinding, security wait, and layout. - Comfort & amenities (20%): 7.4 — Seating, Wi-Fi, cleanliness, and quiet. - Food & retail (15%): 7.0 — Food and retail quality and variety. - Ground access (15%): 7.4 — Transit, taxi, and parking to the city. - Reliability (15%): 6.4 — Delays, cancellations, and weather resilience. - Lounges (10%): 7.4 — Worth-it density and access quality. ## At a glance - Passengers: 11,930,941 (2025) - Terminals: T2 international (2024); T1 domestic under reconstruction. No airside walk. - Typical security: 20 min - On-time: 0% - Disruption: moderate ## Best for - Air Astana and FlyArystan connections across Central Asia, China, the Gulf and Europe - A cheap Onay bus hop on route 92 - An overnight long-haul in the 24/7 Extime Business Lounge if you will pay or hold DragonPass ## Watch out for - Confirm T1 vs T2: Terminal 1 reconstruction was still running on 19 August 2026 - No Priority Pass this pass — Extime is DragonPass / LoungeKey / walk-in - No metro and no airside walk between T1 and T2 - Uber is not the local e-hail; use Yandex Go or inDrive ## More intel - [Lounge directory](/airports/ala/lounges.md) (free) - [Getting there](/airports/ala/getting-there.md) (free) - [Amenities](/airports/ala/amenities.md) (free) - [Traveler tips](/airports/ala/tips.md) (free) - [Water](/airports/ala/water.md) (free) - [Full guide](/airports/ala/guide.md) (free) - [Disruptions](/airports/ala/disruptions.md) (free) - [Reviews](/airports/ala/reviews.md) (free)