Semey Airport

Semey International Airport

Semei Halyqaralyq Äuejaiy (Kazakh)
Semey International Airport; Semei Halyqaralyq Äuejaiy (Kazakh)
	IATA: PLX; ICAO: UASS;
Summary
Airport type	Public
Operator	JSC "Semey International Airport"
Serves	Semey
Location	10 km (6.2 mi) SW of Semey
Elevation AMSL	232 m / 761 ft
Coordinates	50°21′05″N 080°14′04″E / 50.35139°N 80.23444°E
Website	airportsemey.kz
Maps
	PLX/UASS Location in Kazakhstan
Runways
Statistics
Passengers
Passengers	49,900
	Source: AIP Kazakhstan

Semey International Airport (Kazakh: Semei Halyqaralyq Äuejaiy) (IATA: PLX, ICAO: UASS), formerly New Semey (Kazakh: Jañasemei) and named after Abai Qunanbaiuly, is an airport in Semey, Kazakhstan, located 10 km (6.2 mi) south-west^[1] of the city. It services large airliners. The airfield contains two groups of alert fighter pads. A 400 m (1,300 ft) overrun exists at each end of runway 08/26.

Established in 1929, it is Kazakhstan's oldest international airport.

In 1960, the 356th Fighter Aviation Regiment PVO of the Soviet Air Defence Forces arrived at the base from Irkutsk.^[2] Equipped with MiG-17s and Yak-25s, it was placed under the 33rd Air Defence Division, 14th Independent Air Defence Army. It was later equipped with both the Tupolev Tu-128 and MiG-31.

Declassified CIA documents indicate that in the late 1960s, during the height of the Sino-Soviet split, the Soviet Union used this airfield as a bomber staging base for Chinese targets, and at times the Tupolev Tu-22 Blinder was identified here.^{[citation needed]}