Hi, dear flight-report members and readers!
In this special FR, continuing the series about aviation in Kazakhstan, I'd like to review probably the most unique aircraft you can fly on scheduled passenger flights within the country: an almost 50 y.o. Antonov An-24B, which is operated by Southern Sky - a regional subsidiary of SCAT Airlines. It was my first time in 30 years flying a Soviet-built airliner: the previous one was Tupolev Tu-154M on a flight from Nizhny Novgorod (GOJ) to Irkuts (IKT) back in 1995.
I flew this unique aircraft from Oskemen (UKK) to Karagandy (KGF) on September 23 2025. Please don't get distracted by incorrect origin/destination in the header, I have to put it because UKK and KGF are not in the FR airport database. I kindly ask moderators to add these airports to the database, so I'll be able to correct the header.
In the summer schedule-2025 Southern Sky operated An-24B between UKK and KGF twice a week (Tuesdays, Fridays) as a part of 1-stop service between Oskemen and Shymkent (CIT): UKK-KGF-CIT-KGF-UKK.
The price of my ticket was 20 000 tenge, which was about 37 USD at that moment.
I positioned to UKK from ALA on a DV B735 evening flight on September 22 and spent the night in UKK terminal.
Antonov An-24 Civil Operators
Currently there are no more than 3 passengers operators of An-24 left in the world: 1 in Kazakhstan and 2 in Russia.
1) ALROSA: 1 An-24RV (as of September 2024).
2) Khabarovsk Airlines: 4 An-24RV (as of January 2024).
3) Southern Sky (SCAT Airlines): 1 An-24B (as of late 2025).
So, Southern Sky is the only possibility to fly an An-24 outside of Russia.
Southern Sky Antonov-24B LOPA
As the LOPA of this ultra-rare aircraft is not listed anywhere, I'll show a schreenshot from the Southern Sky website made during check-in (opens 24 hours before departure).
The small all-economy cabin has 48 seats in 12 rows in 2-2 layout. Capacity-wise An-24 is equivalent to ATR 42 and DHC-8-300.
Oskemen Airport (UKK)
UKK is located north-west of Oskemen (which means the same as its former name Ust-Kamenogorsk) and is connected with the town by bus service.
It consists of 2 terminals - A for departures and B for arrivals.
The departure terminal and the adjacent square from outside:
The departure terminal inside. It's quite small. In the center one can see entrance to the security check, in the far end there are check-in counters.
The screen over the Southern Sky check-in desk.
Even though I obtained online BP, paper BP is obligatory in UKK in contrast to the major airports in KZ, so I had to visit the desk.
Passengers were not allowed to go airside until less than 1 hour before the flight. On security check my measuring tape was confiscated (sometimes it's an issue in KZ airports), thus I was unable to make precise measurement of the aircraft's seats. The airside area consists of 1 bus gate and is very dull.
Apron views of the terminal and of the ATC tower.
Planespotting in UKK
Planespotting in UKK is very nostalgic in many aspects.
Let's start with the modern planes. KC A20N is taking off (photo made from the square outside the terminal).
A departing DV B738.
An extremely nostalgic yellow MAZ-500 (Belarus-produced) refueler from Soviet era.
Soviet statues of bears.
A couple of L410s, operating for the national emergency service. BTW, in neighbouring Uzbekistan one can fly a L410 on some scheduled passenger flights (like Tashkent - Kokand and some others), as Silk Avia operates 4 of them. Though, I didn't try this opportunity during my visit to Uzbekistan, as I flew a L410 (Vanilla Sky) in Georgia from Mestia to Natakhtari back in January 2022 (a FR will come soon).
Three Soviet aircrafts: Yakovlev Yak-42, Yakovlev Yak-40 and the iconic piston biplan Antonov An-2.
1 more Yak-42 and 2 more Yak-40s.
A Soviet Mi-8 helicopter of the national emergency service.
The Aircraft
And here's the star of the show: 1976-built Antonov An-24B with tail number UP-AN404. The next year (2026) is very special for the aircraft, as it turns 50 years old! This aircraft is 10 years older than me! Eairlier it had blue-and-white livery, but recently was repainted into all-white.
An-24 has a single pair of the doors, and the passengers board via the left one.
A ZiL-130 Soviet service truck, powering the aircraft's electric systems on the ground, and a military helicopter nearby.
The aircraft's tail.
Views of the portside Ivchenko AI-24 turboprop engines from the rear. The MLG bays are located in the nacelles.
Steampunk rivets of the fuselage.
The Cabin
Cabin views during boarding. These good old thick Soviet seats - I haven't sat in these since 1995, when I flew Tupolev-154 for the last time. The upholstery seems to be in quite nice condition.
The Economy Seat
My seat 1D is located in the very front part of the cabin. I chose it for the good engine views. When I reached my seatblock, I discovered that it was "reclined". Yes, these Soviet seats "recline" this way. There were safety cards in the seatpockets, but these were for the row 2. As my row 1 doesn't have safety card and I was a bit sleepy after the night in UKK, I forgot to take photos of them, sorry.
My 1D with the seatback in upright position. As my measuring tape was confiscated in UKK, I wasn't able to properly measure the seatwidth, so I made approximate measurements using my smartphone as an unit of the lenght. So, the seatwidth seems to be no larger than 17". The seat next to me was empty, significanlty adding to the comfort on this 2-hours flight.
The antimacassar with SCAT logo.
The seatbelt.
The armrest is a bit broken.
Ahh, these round portholes and babushka-style window shades! Hey, Dreamliners and the latest A350s!
The crew call button over the window.
There are no overhead bins. Just luggage racks, like in intercity buses.
View of the right landing gear from my window.
The Flight
The Ivchenko engines came to life with low-pitch sound, producing vibrations penetrating the whole aircraft.
Taxiing to the runway.
Takeoff from UKK. The thundering sound of Ivchenko engines on takeoff is truly unforgettable!
Overflying Irtysh river, which flows north, towards Siberia.
The cockpit doors and the turned-on sign "don't smoke; fasten the seatbelt".
The cockpit door's handle with the word "press".
Reaching cruise altitude.
The inflight service begins. As on SCAT and Sunday Airlines domestic flights, only a small bottle of water is served.
As our cruising FL is significantly lower than the jet's one, from time to time we pass through the clouds, damping the sun. Some views of the starboard engine's propeller:
As we're slowly (and loudly) advancing towards Karagandy, it's time to stretch the legs.
Cabin views of the rear with an example of a fully "reclined" seat.
A crew offered me coffee in a SCAT-branded cup. Very nice!
The aircraft's registration plate in the rear.
The left door and the aircraft's own stair (not frequently used, obviously).
The lavatory door and its handle.
In the lavatory.
Some more views of the Ivchenko AI-24 engine and its propeller.
Starting our descent to KGF.
Gear down! Gear serve as a kind of "spoiler", allowing to reduce airspeed and accelerate descent.
Descending through rain clouds.
Approaching KGF.
Touchdown.
First views of the large KGF terminal, built in Soviet brutalism style.
It turned out, that KGF has significant freighter service. A cargo A332, seemingly from China. As this aircraft doesn't have the nosegear "blister", it's a P2F one.
Taxiing to the parking position.
Parking position, the MLG is fixed.
The luggage unloader is coming.
The Cabin After The Flight
Cabin views upon disembarkment.
Disembarkment in KGF
A view of the portside Ivchenko engine and of the Chinese cargo B763F (B-223L), parked nearby.
The bus (used ex-intercity bus instead of Cobus) taking the passengers to arrivals.
The Aircraft After The Flight
Views of our beautiful Antonov from the bus. It was unforgettable!
Karagandy Sary-Arqa International Airport (KGF)
Brutalist Soviet "jetbridges" of KGF terminal.
A russian-produced KamAZ firefighting truck.
Entry to the domestic arrivals.
FID of today's arrivals. Only domestic ones. The next day there were some international ones.
Some views of the KGF's impressive check-in hall.
The ceiling.
Coffee machines.
Promotion of KGF-CIT - the extension of the UKK-KGD flight.
The mockup of the airport.
An interesting exposition of some Soviet-era engines and aircraft parts in the hall.
Views of the brutalist-style terminal from outside. "Sary-Arqa" means literally "Yellow Back", but de-facto in Kazakhstan this name is applied to the Steppe.
The bus service, connecting KGF with the city, is very infrequent. I had to wait more than 2 hours for the bus.
Planespotting in KGF
Some planespotting in KGF - from the terminal and from outside.
Piaggio P.180 Avanti (T7-CHMG) - an unique private aircraft with pushing propellers.
A FS A320 (EI-KBF)
A new shining (less than 2 months old at that moment) 2025-built B77F (G-ONEG) of the British cargo airline One Air - the youngest B777 in service I've ever seen!
A Qazaq Air DH4.
And, as a final accord of this FR, a sunlit autumn poplar.
Thank you for your attention and see you in the next FRs!
