Ashgabat International Airport named after Saparmurat Turkmenbashi is located near the capital of Turkmenistan. Here are the best conditions in the country for receiving not only domestic flights, but also the largest airliners from around the world. The Turkmen Airlines company is based at this airport.
general information
Ashgabat is an airport that was opened in 1994. During its construction, the best equipment at that time was used and unique architectural solutions were implemented. The airport had two runways that are capable of accepting liners of all types.
Thus, annually a passenger traffic of about one and a half million people began to pass through the airport. Airplanes of local and international airlines began to arrive here.
At that time, Ashgabat Airport was the largest in the country. However, in 2013, it was decided to build a complex called Oguzhan, which was supposed to meet modern international standards.
Airport Location
In fact, the airport named after Saparmurat Turkmenbashi is located in the city. It is only 7 km from the center of Ashgabat. There are several spacious routes to the airport. Saparmurat Niyazov Avenue and Neutrality Avenue lead here.
Ashgabat is an airport that is the only point for receiving international flights around 370 km from the capital. The next terminal is located at a specified distance in the city of Mary.
Transport
Since Ashgabat Airport does not have clear borders with the city, passengers do not experience any problems with public transport. Buses No. 1 and No. 18 run to the central part of the capital of the state. The intervals between their delivery to stops near the exits from the terminal of the terminal are no more than 20 minutes.
Here is a whole mass of free parking for cars. You can leave the airport in a relatively inexpensive taxi. The only inconvenience for passengers may be the need to pay for travel in local currency, which must be exchanged in advance at the airport building.
New air complex
In 2013, the construction of a new complex of the Oguzhan Airport began. Its construction was included in the plans of the country's leadership for the socio-economic development of the state.
For the construction of the complex, the company “Turkmen Airlines” concluded the appropriate contracts with the Turkish construction organization Polymex, whose specialists were engaged in the design of the facility.
The project included the construction of three new terminals: cargo, passenger and terminal for VIP-clients. To service numerous international flights, a 3800 m long landing strip was built, and an old one was reconstructed. Among other things, additional parking areas, taxiways, aprons for accommodating aircraft were built. Towers were erected to accommodate dispatching services to control the direction of flights. The total area of the air complex was 1200 hectares.
On the territory of the new airport there are storage facilities that can accommodate up to 200,000 tons of cargo. It also housed a station for refueling airliners, as well as hangars designed for maintenance of aircraft.
Among other things, plans were implemented for the construction of a number of administrative buildings, which housed the representative offices of Turkmen Airlines and Turkmenistan. A school for training pilots and airport personnel, training facilities for crew training, and medical centers began to be based here. A museum was also opened where exhibits related to the development of Turkmen aviation were presented.
The airport runways were commissioned in 2015. To service the latter, the designers built a 65-meter control tower. The officially new airport was opened on September 17, 2016.
Small airport terminal
For the period of construction of a new complex of facilities at Ashgabat Airport, the small terminal of airport No. 2 took over the service of arriving and departing international flights. Before that, it was the main and only terminal of the airport terminal.
The terminal was erected in Soviet times, and its area is 14,000 m 2 . For an hour, the terminal is able to serve about 1200 passengers. After the commissioning of the complexes of the new Oguzhan airport, terminal No. 2 began to be used to receive and send local flights to the center of the country.
New Airport Infrastructure
The modernization of the airport served as the basis for improving the infrastructure, which was supposed to correspond to the international status of the facility. Today, the new Ashgabat airport has:
- comfortable waiting rooms;
- pharmacy and medical points;
- souvenir shops;
- numerous shops and supermarkets;
- currency exchange points;
- areas of distribution of free Wi-Fi;
- restaurants serving local cuisine;
- free parking for cars.
It is worth noting that the above services are offered to passengers around the clock, and at affordable prices. The airport staff is able to prompt information of interest in Russian and English.
Ashgabat is an airport that does not have adjacent hotels. In order to accommodate passengers a few kilometers from the airport, the Lachin Hotel was built. Here travelers are given comfortable double and single rooms.
Regular flights
Ashgabat is an airport that in Soviet times was considered exclusively as a point for receiving domestic flights. Currently, in addition to liners of local airlines, its runways accept planes from numerous countries of the world. The aircraft of such well-known companies as Lufthansa, Belavia, Fly Dubai, Turkish Airlines, China Airlines, which are engaged not only in passenger, but also in cargo transportation, land here.