Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport (, ), formerly Astana International Airport, is an international airport in the Akmola Region of Kazakhstan. It is the primary international airport serving Astana, the capital city of Kazakhstan. The airport is the second-busiest international air passenger gateway into Central Asia (after Almaty International Airport), the 13th busiest airport in the Post-Soviet states and the second-busiest airport in terms of passenger traffic in Kazakhstan, with 5,099,391 passengers in 2019. It is located in the Yesil administrative subdivision of Astana, south-east of the city centre. The airport features two passenger terminals and one runway as well as cargo and maintenance facilities. Terminal 2 was designed by the late Japanese architect Kisho Kurokawa. It serves as the primary hub of Kazakhstan's flag carrier – Air Astana, and is the primary operating base for SCAT Airlines, Qazaq Air, low-cost carrier – FlyArystan and was also formerly a hub for Starlines Kazakhstan and Tselinograd OAO. The facility opened in 1931 as Akmolinsk Airport then, as the city changed its name, renamed as Tselinograd Airport and then as Astana International Airport. With a government decree, the airport was renamed Nursultan Nazarbayev International Airport as a tribute to the first President. On June 8, 2020, the airport officially changed its three-character IATA airport code from TSE to NQZ. It has been recognised as the 'Best Regional Airport in Central Asia and CIS' at the Skytrax World Airport Awards 2022. History The airport was built in 1930, three kilometers from Akmolinsk (now – Astana) within the area of today's modern architectural tower of Baiterek. There was a square field for aircraft take-off and landing, an adobe 8-room station with a small waiting hall, a two-room house for pilots, and fuel storage on the airport grounds. In December 1931, the first airfield of Astana was built on the outskirts of the town and was developed further after World War II. Regular air traffic was established between Semipalatinsk and Akmolinsk (day of enterprise establishment). During times of flooding, the aerodrome was closed. Communication between the aerodrome and the city was by phone, ferry (there was no bridge over Ishim River), and footpath. In the first few years, the air traffic was ad-hoc by character, with loose timetables, such as "Aircraft departure on Monday morning" or "On Wednesday at sunrise". Transportation of passengers, mail, and cargo was carried out by Kalinin K-4, Kalinin K-5, Polikarpov R-5,