Story ID: 
Kazakhstan Airport Protests Disrupt Flight Operations
By: Charles Alcock
Caption: As of Thursday morning, it remained unclear whether government security forces had retaken full control of airports including Almaty International.
Word Count: 147
Flights in and out of Kazakhstan’s Almaty International Airport continued to face disruption on Thursday morning after protestors occupied the main terminal on January 5. With Russian paratroopers today having arrived in the central Asian country in response to a request for help from President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, there were still numerous flight cancellations, according to FlightRadar24.

Officials appear not to have responded to conflicting media reports about whether or not security forces have taken back control of the damaged building. Some reports said that five aircraft might have been seized by armed protestors.

On January 5, flight support specialist Osprey Flight Solutions warned operators to prepare for disruption and security risks at the country’s main airport, and also at the Nur-Sultan, Aktau, Atyrau, and Aktobe airports. The Kazakhstan government declared that a state of emergency will be in force through January 19.