Stepnoye East Airport

Primarily economic reasons. The airport's operations were tied to the Soviet state-funded agricultural system. With the collapse of the USSR, the central funding for Aeroflot's local and agricultural divisions ceased, and the collective farms (kolkhozes) it served were dismantled or restructured. This eliminated the economic basis for the airfield, leading to its abandonment, a fate shared by hundreds of similar small airfields across the former Soviet Union.

The airport is completely abandoned and in a state of advanced decay. High-resolution satellite imagery shows the single runway and adjacent taxiways are still clearly visible but are heavily cracked, weathered, and being overgrown by grass and shrubs. Any support buildings that may have existed are either gone or in ruins. The site is not used for any formal purpose and shows no signs of maintenance or activity, aside from informal dirt tracks that cross the derelict pavement. It is effectively being reclaimed by the surrounding steppe.

Stepnoye East was a local agricultural aviation (сельхозавиация) base during the Soviet era. Its primary role was to support the intensive agriculture in the Saryagash District of the Kazakh SSR. The airfield was a base for utility aircraft, most notably the Antonov An-2, which were used for crop dusting, aerial seeding, and pest control over the vast cotton and grain fields in the region. It may have also facilitated limited local passenger and mail transport to nearby towns and remote settlements. Its significance was purely regional and integral to the local agricultural economy of its time.

There are no known plans, discussions, or prospects for reopening Stepnoye East Airport. The infrastructure is beyond repair and would require a complete reconstruction, an investment for which there is no economic justification. Modern agricultural practices have changed, and the region is well-served for major air transport by the nearby international airports in Shymkent, Kazakhstan (UAII) and Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UTTT). The prospect of reopening is considered non-existent.