Sary-Arka Airport — Karaganda, Kazakhstan

Sary-Arka Airport, coded KGF, takes its modern name from the vast Kazakh steppe region surrounding Karaganda, a city built largely around one of the Soviet Union's most significant coal-mining basins. Coal extraction transformed Karaganda from a modest settlement into an industrial center during the Soviet era, and mining along with associated metallurgy still anchors much of the regional economy served by the airport today. The surrounding area also carries a difficult history as the site of Karlag, one of the largest forced-labor camp systems in the Soviet Gulag network, a legacy increasingly acknowledged through regional memorials and museums. Air Astana and other Kazakh carriers connect KGF to Almaty, Astana, and other domestic destinations, supporting travel for the mining, energy, and metallurgical industries that continue to define this part of central Kazakhstan.