Ashgabat Airport Goes for Facelift
Ashgabat Airport Goes for Facelift
Turkmenistan is keen to expand its international airport, but NBCentralAsia observers say that the country’s excessive security measures and worn-out aircraft mean that air travel has a long way to go before it comes up to international standards.
On September 4, President Gurbanguly Berdymuhammedov met senior officials from the French construction company Bouygues, and proposed that they enter into a joint project to reconstruct Ashgabat international airport.
Bouygues has a strong presence in Turkmenistan and has been involved in major building contracts there for many years.
In late August, Berdymuhammedov called for improvements in the aviation industry, saying that services had to be brought up to international standards and Ashgabat airport’s capacity extended. He told the national carrier Turkmenhovayollary to put together suggestions on how to modernise the new runway and airport buildings.
Ashgabat airport, which was built in 1995, is equipped with modern French navigation equipment and can take 1,800 passengers per hour. Its runways are long enough to take the big Boeing-747, as most of the national fleet consists of these planes.
Although they are long-haul aircraft, the Boeings were often used for short flights when the late president Saparmurat Niazov was in power and international flights were reduced. As a result, they are now prematurely worn out.
“Half the planes are out of action. The fleet is too small and we don’t have enough planes, so we have to contract out [to other airlines] on the side,” said an airport employee.
Plans to open up new routes were announced in April and new flights to Almaty and Minsk, plus additional ones to Moscow, have recently been launched. Talks are under way to resume routes to the states of the South Caucasus. Apart from former Soviet states, Turkmenistan currently has air connections with Turkey, China, Iran, Pakistan, India, the United Arab Emirates and Europe. Ashgabat airport also handles domestic flights.
Local analysts say that if the airport is to expand, the government will have to recruit more pilots, stewardesses and ground staff, because those now working have poor skills.
One NBCentralAsia observer in Ashgabat cites as an example a recent case where an aircraft mechanic filled a Boeing plane with low-grade fuel, which meant it could not take off and the flight had to be cancelled.
The customs surveillance system is also far too rigorous, according to other NBCentralAsia observers. Passengers are currently herded through five control points at the airport and many have their baggage examined as well as being searched themselves.
“It is hard and humiliating for a normal person to go through all these inspections where customs officers open up your luggage and look through your personal belongings in front of everybody,” said one commentator.
(NBCentralAsia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region)
On September 4, President Gurbanguly Berdymuhammedov met senior officials from the French construction company Bouygues, and proposed that they enter into a joint project to reconstruct Ashgabat international airport.
Bouygues has a strong presence in Turkmenistan and has been involved in major building contracts there for many years.
In late August, Berdymuhammedov called for improvements in the aviation industry, saying that services had to be brought up to international standards and Ashgabat airport’s capacity extended. He told the national carrier Turkmenhovayollary to put together suggestions on how to modernise the new runway and airport buildings.
Ashgabat airport, which was built in 1995, is equipped with modern French navigation equipment and can take 1,800 passengers per hour. Its runways are long enough to take the big Boeing-747, as most of the national fleet consists of these planes.
Although they are long-haul aircraft, the Boeings were often used for short flights when the late president Saparmurat Niazov was in power and international flights were reduced. As a result, they are now prematurely worn out.
“Half the planes are out of action. The fleet is too small and we don’t have enough planes, so we have to contract out [to other airlines] on the side,” said an airport employee.
Plans to open up new routes were announced in April and new flights to Almaty and Minsk, plus additional ones to Moscow, have recently been launched. Talks are under way to resume routes to the states of the South Caucasus. Apart from former Soviet states, Turkmenistan currently has air connections with Turkey, China, Iran, Pakistan, India, the United Arab Emirates and Europe. Ashgabat airport also handles domestic flights.
Local analysts say that if the airport is to expand, the government will have to recruit more pilots, stewardesses and ground staff, because those now working have poor skills.
One NBCentralAsia observer in Ashgabat cites as an example a recent case where an aircraft mechanic filled a Boeing plane with low-grade fuel, which meant it could not take off and the flight had to be cancelled.
The customs surveillance system is also far too rigorous, according to other NBCentralAsia observers. Passengers are currently herded through five control points at the airport and many have their baggage examined as well as being searched themselves.
“It is hard and humiliating for a normal person to go through all these inspections where customs officers open up your luggage and look through your personal belongings in front of everybody,” said one commentator.
(NBCentralAsia draws comment and analysis from a broad range of political observers across the region)
