According to the regional administration's response, Petropavlovsk airport ended 2025 with a loss of 81.6 million tenge: revenue was 382.1 million tenge and expenses 463.7 million.
At the same time, work is under way on extending the runway from 2,801 to 3,500 m, financing the repair and preparing design and cost documentation. Also under consideration are a railway spur of about 6 km to the fuel complex, terminal and warehouses, development of the fuel complex and a cargo terminal. A split of the infrastructure into budget-funded and commercial parts is under discussion.
In 2025 the airport handled 132,500 passengers, according to the government about 6.5 times more than in 2021. The growth is from a low base. We covered the government-level discussion of the airport's development here: https://www.flycentralasia.com/news/en/petropavlovsk-airport-nalibayev-meeting-runway-reconstruction-passenger-traffic-2025-kyzylzhar/
The airport is under trust management with a right of buyout until July 2027; the managing company is Kyzyl-Zhar International Airport LLP. This is not a sale of the airport. In 2025 Petropavlovsk saw its first international flight in six years, a SCAT charter to Sharm el-Sheikh. According to the regional administration, the airport can accept Boeing 737 and 767 and Airbus A330 aircraft, with operating caveats. At the government meeting on 29 October it was reported that the fuel complex has been restored and restrictions on night flights have been lifted.
Losses are not only a problem of regional airports. Astana airport posted a loss of 6.9 billion tenge for 2025, stopped buying jet fuel itself and halved the related fees: https://www.flycentralasia.com/news/en/astana-airport-jet-fuel-fee-cut-losses/
Runway reconstruction is also part of the Ministry of Transport's overall plan to 2029: three new runways, reconstruction of four existing ones and terminal projects at seven airports: https://www.flycentralasia.com/news/en/kazakhstan-airport-infrastructure-plan-2029-runways-terminals-ministry-of-transport/
Our assessment: the figures show that passenger growth in 2025 did not cover the airport's costs, and the runway extension plan comes down to financing: until the project is backed by approved funds and a timeline, it remains at the study stage. For infrastructure investors, fuelling operators and logistics and cargo companies, the airport is a potential platform, but a decision to enter will depend on the terms of management and buyout and on the size of the budget-funded part of the project. This is the view of flycentralasia.