Russia's Roscosmos State Corporation for Space Activities, also known as Roscosmos (Moscow Vnukovo), has called on passenger carriers to begin using Krayniy Airport in Kazakhstan following its recent completion of renovations and upgrades.

The airfield serves as the gateway to Baikonur Cosmodrome, home of the Russian space programme.

Announcing the tender, the Centre for the Operation of Ground-Based Space Infrastructure Facilities (TsENKI) says that so far, five carriers have expressed a willingness to start flights to the airport among them SCAT Airlines (DV, Shymkent) which is planning flights from both Astana Nursultan Nazarbayev and Almaty International. Roscosmos hopes the launch of scheduled passenger services will increase Baikonur's profile as a tourist destination.

Located 200 kilometres east of the Aral Sea, Baikonur Cosmodrome is the world's first and largest operational space launch facility. It is leased from the Kazakh Government by Russia (until 2050) and is jointly managed by Roscosmos and the Aerospace Forces of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation.