For business I travel to Kazan a few times a year. The strangest thing is arriving in Kazan. Let's say you arrive with a Airbus 380. Quite a few people, and you all have to go through one door, nobody seems to care to open the door next to it as well to make things go quicker. But then the funny thing; when you pass luggage area, you first have to go to the arrival hall, everybody through one door again, and when the luggage is at the belt everybody can go back to collect their luggage. Again through a very small door. It seems nobody has been thinking when this building was designed. But don't let this stop you to pay a visit to Kazan; it's a beautiful city, with even more beautiful people.

Relatively small airport, ~30 km from the city. There are buses that go to the city (travel costs less than 1$). The number of international flights is quite limited. Mostly used to fly to Moscow, St. Petersburg and some cities in Siberia. There is really nothing to do there - so, do not come well in advance (1.5 hours before your flight should be OK). People working there mostly do not speak English. Duty free shop is very small. Smoking area is on the way to the toilets, which is not nice for non-smokers.

As an American citizen who has spent in Kazan several years I can say that Kazan International Airport isn't a big airport. Yet it offers quiet big number of directions. You can easily fly from Kazan directly to such cities as Frankfurt, Istanbul, Moscow, Saint-Petersburg, Kaliningrad, Surgut, Tashkent. Lufthansa, Turkish Airlines and Uzbekistan Airways are the main international carriers. Local air company "Tatarstan" offers quiet a number of domestic and international flights. The customs area is really well done. I mean you go through customs really quickly. It's great! But they will ask you about 1000 roubles to get you to the city itself by taxi! I know the airport is being rebuilt at the moment. They will grandly expand it by the year of 2013. Way to go, KZN!

P.S. Kazan itself is a BEAUTIFUL city. Worth visiting!

I live in this city and I sometimes fly from this airport. Be sure it's not the place you want to stay for hours but the airport itself is good enough to come to Kazan and leave the city. The number of international flights is very small. Only Lufthansa and Turkish airlines fly from Kazan. 8 to 9 daily flights to Moscow (all 3 airports). Flights to Kaliningrad 5 times a week by KD-avia (nice connections to Europe). Kazan International airport is being reconstructed now. It will have 3 terminals by 2013. And it will be connected with Kazan city by rail.

Quite far outside the city - out in the nothing (even though there is quite a lot of nothing in Tatarstan - which doesn't mean that it is not beautiful). It should maybe be modernized a bit, but OK. Once more I was happy to have a German company flying back home (even though passing via Samara). Calm and nice (early on a Saturday morning). But arriving another time in the evening from Moscow I know that this airport is never busy. Be aware of the Taxi-mafia outside - might be cheaper to order a taxi from the hotel to fetch you.