Ashgabat International Airport

International airport in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan

Ashgabat International Airport

Aşgabat halkara howa menzili

* IATA: ASB
* ICAO: UTAA

Summary
Airport type| Public
Owner| Government of Turkmenistan
Operator| Turkmenhowayollary Agency [1]
Location| Ashgabat
Hub for| Turkmenistan Airlines
Elevation AMSL| 692 ft / 211 m
Coordinates| 37°59′13″N 58°21′39″E﻿ / ﻿37.98694°N 58.36083°E﻿ / 37.98694; 58.36083
Website| ashgabatairport.gov.tm
Map

ASB

Location of airport in Turkmenistan

Runways
| Direction | Length  | Surface

|
|

ft  | m
12L/30R  | 12,467  | 3,800  | Concrete
12R/30L  | 12,467  | 3,800  | Concrete
Statistics (2016)
| Number of Passengers| 1,300,000

|

Source: AIP Turkmenistan[2]

Ashgabat Airport

Ashgabat International Airport (Turkmen: Aşgabat halkara howa menzili) (IATA: ASB, ICAO: UTAA), formerly known as Saparmyrat Türkmenbaşy International Airport, is one of five international airports in Turkmenistan. It is located within the city limits of Ashgabat (Ashkhabad). The old airport, with its air traffic control tower and a 3,700-metre-long (12,000 ft) precision approach runway (12L-30R), opened in 1994 and was named after the country's first president, Saparmyrat Niyazov. The new airport terminal opened in September 2016, after being completely redesigned and rebuilt and after the south runway was moved and lengthened to parallel the north runway.

## History[edit]

The former terminal from 1994 to 2013 Interior of the new terminal

### Soviet[edit]

Turkmen civil aviation began in 1927, the year air communications began between Chardzhou and Tashauz, flying through the settlements of Turtkul and Novo-Urgench (both in the Uzbek SSR). For this route, four-passenger Junkers F.13 aircraft were purchased in Germany, as well as Soviet four-passenger Kalinin K-4 aircraft. Eight aircraft served this airline. Later, in 1932, newer Soviet aircraft were purchased for the transport of passengers. The Kalinin K-5 aircraft seated six, and the Tupolev ANT-9 aircraft had twelve seats. With this replenishment of the Turkmen SSR air fleet, in 1932 an air division was formed at Chardzhou Airport that directly served the Chardzhou-Tashauz route, without stops in other settlements.[citation needed] In Soviet times, the airport was used exclusively for servicing flights within the USSR. Currently, in addition to the aircraft of the local airline fleet, the airport serves the planes of several foreign airlines of the world, performing both passenger and cargo flights.[citation needed]

### Independent Turkmenistan[edit]

The first modern airport terminal opened in 1994 with a capacity of 1,600 passengers per hour. In Soviet times, the airport was used exclusively for domestic flights.[citation needed]

As part of Saparmurat Niyazov's aspiration to transform Turkmenistan into 'the new Kuwait', he sought to construct a distinctive airport. This zeal resulted in the control tower being constructed on the wrong side of the runway. The 'gaudy new terminal' now blocked the view of air traffic controllers as they guided pilots. The builders warned him of this, however, he responded that, "It looks better this way."[3]

The building was dismantled in 2013.

### New building (2016)[edit]

The Turkmen government let an international tender in 2012 for reconstruction of the airport in Ashgabat, to be named "Oguz Han". Polimeks, a Turkish construction company active in Turkmenistan since the late-1990s, was declared winner of the tender. The new airport was opened on 17 September 2016 by President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow.[4] The project cost $2.3 billion (€1.7 billion) and features a highly unusual terminal design in the shape of a falcon. The new airport has capacity to serve 14 million passengers per year at a rate of 1,600 passengers per hour. The airport covers 350,000 m2 and includes a passenger terminal, VIP terminal, cargo terminal with capacity to handle 200,000 tonnes of freight per year, a new air traffic control tower (ATCT), a maintenance hangar for three narrow-body aircraft, new fueling stations, catering, fire brigade, flight simulation, repair and maintenance buildings, parking space for 3,000 cars, a civil aviation school as well as a medical center. The airport has also a second 3,800-meter long runway to serve wide-body, double-deck jet airliners such as the Airbus A380 and Boeing 747-8.[5]

## Facilities[edit]

There are two artificial runways, equipped with the second category ILS and platform, enabling them to take aircraft of all types. All services of the airport work around the clock. The airport includes passenger waiting rooms, immigration, customs, border control, a 24-hour reference service, VIP and CIP rooms, a business club, a ticket office for (Turkmenistan Airlines), shops, bars, fast-food outlets, currency exchange, a new baggage handling conveyor system, international telephone, a mother and child room and the offices for (Star Alliance air carriers and Turkish Airlines).[citation needed]

On 26 March 2014, a small passenger terminal was opened during a ceremony attended by President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow.[6] The terminal is located on the site of a pre-existing Turkmen SSR airport (behind the bus station) on 2013 Street (Cosmonaut Boulevard). For the period of construction of the main passenger terminal the temporary terminal served passengers departing from and arriving to Ashgabat. After commissioning of the main terminal, the terminal was used for domestic routes and charter flights.[7]

## Airlines and destinations[edit]

### Passenger[edit]

Airlines| Destinations

|

Aeroflot| Moscow-Sheremetyevo
Air Arabia| Sharjah
Air Astana| Almaty
Air China| Beijing-Capital
AnadoluJet| Ankara
Azerbaijan Airlines| Baku
Belavia| Minsk
China Southern Airlines|  Ürümqi
FlyArystan| Astana, Turkistan
FlyDubai|  Dubai-International
Flynas| Jeddah
Jazeera Airways| Kuwait
Loong Air| Chengdu-Tianfu, Xi'an
Mahan Air| Mashhad
Pegasus Airlines| Istanbul-Sabiha Gökçen
Qatar Airways| Doha
S7 Airlines|  Moscow-Domodedovo
Turkish Airlines|  Istanbul
Turkmenistan Airlines|  Almaty, Ankara, Astana, Baku, Bangkok-Suvarnabhumi, Beijing–Daxing, Bishkek, Budapest, Daşoguz, Delhi, Doha Dubai–International, Dushanbe, Frankfurt, Guangzhou, Hanoi, Islamabad, Istanbul, Jeddah, Kuala Lumpur-International, Lahore, London-Gatwick, Mary, Milan-Malpensa, Minsk, Moscow-Vnukovo, Moscow-Zhukovsky, Prague, Riyadh, Seoul-Incheon, Tashkent, Tehran-Imam Khomeini, Türkmenabat, Türkmenbaşy
Uzbekistan Airways| Tashkent
Wizz Air| Abu Dhabi

## Ground transportation[edit]

The airport is located near M37 highway and connect to them as a four-lane motorway. Terminal parking, short-term and long-term parking is available at the airport.

### Bus[edit]

There is regular bus service by bus line 1, 18, 22, 58 from the airport to Ashgabat city.[8] Complete list of local services is available at the Ashgabat passenger motor transport enterprise website.

Means of transport at Ashgabat Airport

Means of transport  | Operator  | Route  | Destinations  | Notes
Bus  | Ashgabat passenger motor transport enterprise  | 1, 18, 22, 58  |

* (Turkmen: Awtokombinat) (1)
* (Turkmen: Parahat) (18 and 22)
* (Turkmen: Köpetdag şaýoly) (58)

### Taxi[edit]

There are Awtomobil Ulag Hyzmaty company offering services at Ashgabat Airport.[9]

## See also[edit]

* List of the busiest airports in the former USSR
* List of airports in Turkmenistan
* Transportation in Turkmenistan

## References[edit]

1. ^ "Общая информация". caa.gov.tm.
2. ^ aviadocs.net https://web.archive.org/web/20130331010024/http://aviadocs.net/AIP/. Archived from the original on 31 March 2013. `{{cite web}}`: Missing or empty `|title=` (help)
3. ^ Ghost Wars, Steve Coll; pg. 303 along with the corresponding footnote on pg. 627.
4. ^ "The President of Turkmenistan took part in the opening of new Ashgabat International Airport". Turkmenistan. The Golden Age. 17 September 2016. Archived from the original on 18 September 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2016.
5. ^ "Türk firması Türkmenistan'da 2.25 milyar dolarlık ihale kazandı – Hürriyet EKONOMİ". Hurriyet.com.tr. 12 January 2013. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
6. ^ "Golden Age". Turkmenistan. Archived from the original on 24 May 2014. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
7. ^ "Туркменистан: золотой век". Turkmenistan.gov.tm. Archived from the original on 12 August 2017. Retrieved 22 April 2014.
8. ^ "Route | Automobile ministry of Turkmenistan".
9. ^ "Taksi hyzmatlaryny onlaýn usulynda sargyt etmek".

## External links[edit]

* Accident history for ASB at Aviation Safety Network
* Airport information for UTAA at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
* Current weather for UTAA at NOAA/NWS

Portals:

* Turkmenistan
* Aviation

* v
* t
* e

Ashgabat

Landmarks|

| Palaces|

* Oguzkhan Presidential Palace
* Ruhyýet Palace
* Wedding Palace

|

Hotels|

* Archabil Hotel Ashgabat
* Grand Turkmen Hotel
* Oguzkent Hotel
* Yyldyz Hotel

Monuments and memorials|

* Ashgabat Flagpole
* Fountain
* Halk Hakydasy Memorial Complex
* Independence Monument
* Monument to the Constitution
* Neutrality Monument

Mosques|

* Ertuğrul Gazi Mosque
* Türkmenbaşy Ruhy Mosque

Museums and theatres|

* Ashgabat cinema
* Ashgabat National Museum of History
* Ashgabat Russian Drama Theatre
* Exhibition Hall of the Ministry of Culture
* State Academy of Arts of Turkmenistan
* Turkmen Carpet Museum
* Turkmenistan Cultural Centre
* Turkmen Museum of Fine Arts
* Turkmen National Theatre of Youth
* Turkmen Puppet Theatre

Retail and business|

* Altyn Asyr Bazaar
* Central Bank of Turkmenistan
* Russian Bazaar
* Turkmen State Circus

Education|

* Institute of International Relations
* Institute of Telecommunications and Informatics of Turkmenistan
* International Oil and Gas University
* International Turkmen-Turkish University
* International University of Humanities and Development
* Turkmen Agricultural University
* Turkmen State Institute of Architecture and Construction
* Turkmen State Institute of Economics and Management
* Turkmen State Medical University
* Turkmen State University

Sport|

* Ashgabat Stadium
* Ashgabat Velodrome
* Galkan Winter Sports Centre
* HTTU Stadium
* Köpetdag Stadium
* Nusaý Stadium
* Saparmurat Turkmenbashi Olympic Stadium
* Winter Sports Complex Ashgabat

Transport|

* Ashgabat International Airport
* Trolleybuses in Ashgabat
* Archabil Avenue
* Bitarap Turkmenistan Avenue
* Independence Square
* Galkynysh Square
* Makhtumkuli Avenue

* Category

* v
* t
* e

Airports in Turkmenistan

Major international|

* Ashgabat

Minor international|

* Daşoguz
* Mary
* Kerki
* Türkmenabat
* Türkmenbaşy

Unscheduled|

* Balkanabat
* Jebel

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template