Ashgabat International Airport
| Ashgabat Airport Saparmyrat Turkmenbashy International Airport |
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IATA: ASB – ICAO: UTAA
 ASB
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| Summary | |||
| Airport type | Public | ||
| Operator | N/A | ||
| Location | Ashgabat | ||
| Elevation AMSL | 692 ft / 211 m | ||
| Coordinates | 37°59′13″N 058°21′39″E / 37.98694°N 58.36083°E | ||
| Runways | |||
| Direction | Length | Surface | |
| ft | m | ||
| 12L/30R | 12,467 | 3,800 | Concrete |
| 12R/30L | 9,806 | 2,989 | Concrete |
| 11/29 | 5,907 | 1,800 | Asphalt |
Ashgabat International Airport (IATA: ASB, ICAO: UTAA), formerly known as Saparmurat Turkmenbashy International Airport, is one of two international airports in Turkmenistan. It is located approximately 10 km (6 mi) northwest of the capital Ashgabat (Ashkhabad). The airport, with its air traffic control tower and a 12,000-foot (3,700 m) long precision approach runway (12L-30R), opened in 1994 and was named after the country's first president, Saparmyrat Niyazov.
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Criticism [edit]
As part of 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."[1]
New airport [edit]
The Turkmen government opened an international tender in 2012 for the construction of a new international airport in Ashgabat, to be named "Oghuz Khagan". Polimeks, a Turkish construction company active in Turkmenistan since the late-1990s was declared as the winner of the tender. The project will cost $2.3 billion (€1.7 billion) and features a highly unsual terminal design, a Turkmen bird. The new airport will be able to serve 14 million passengers per year and is scheduled for completion in 2016. It will have a closed-area of 350.000m2 and include a passenger terminal, VIP terminal, cargo terminal with a 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 fuelling 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. Once completed, the airport will also have a new 3.800m long runway to serve wide-body, double-deck jet airliners such as the Airbus A380 and Boeing 747-8.[2]
Airlines and destinations [edit]
Passenger [edit]
Cargo [edit]
| Airlines | Destinations |
|---|---|
| Coyne Airways | Tbilisi |
| Volga Dnepr | Düsseldorf, Stavanger |
References [edit]
- ^ Ghost Wars, Steve Coll; pg. 303 along with the corresponding footnote on pg. 627.
- ^ Hürriyet - Türk firması Türkmenistan'da 2.25 milyar dolarlık ihale kazandı
External links [edit]
- Accident history for ASB at Aviation Safety Network
- Airport information for UTAA at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective Oct. 2006).
- Current weather for UTAA at NOAA/NWS
- Airport information for UTAA at World Aero Data. Data current as of October 2006.Source: DAFIF.
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