ASHGABAT INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT

On September 17, 2016, the opening of the new airport took place with the participation of the President of Turkmenistan Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov . Construction of the airport began by the Turkish company Polimeks in January 2013 and was completed in September 2016.
The project includes the construction of three terminals – passenger, VIP and cargo. A new 3800-metre runway has been built and the existing runway has been reconstructed Taxiways , parking spaces and aprons for aircraft, air traffic control towers, and a 72-metre control tower have been built . The total area of the site on which the airport complex is located is 1200 hectares.
The new terminal of the international airport is presented to residents and guests of the capital in the form of a falcon – lachin, which has spread its wings. The building is constructed of steel structures, glass, and also faced with white stone, which fascinates with its beauty. On the territory of the international airport there are thirty telescopic gates that serve passengers to pass to the plane, as well as from the plane to the terminal building. The territory of the terminal is 166 thousand square meters, and also the height is 45 meters, and the length is more than 68 meters.
The new airport complex, having a unique modern design, is a “calling card” of the capital of Turkmenistan. Ashgabat International Airport has the capacity to serve more than 14 million people annually, for which more than 1,800 aviation specialists work at the airport. For the convenience and safety of passengers, the airport has the latest innovative technologies that will ensure security at the Ashgabat International Airport. Thus, on the territory of the airport there are telescopic bridges for the safe passage of passengers to the aircraft and back, electronic check-in counters where passengers are provided with all services, and there are also running elevators and escalators. In addition, the airport has HVAC – cooling systems, as well as heating. There are also FIDS – warning systems that provide information about departures in different languages on an electronic board, as well as X-RAY – X-ray scanners that help to promptly identify contraindicated means; CCTV – video surveillance systems, which allows the airport security service to promptly identify any violations. The international airport also has a modern fire-fighting system and an alarm system.
The passenger terminal has five floors and is designed for local and international flights. There are waiting and check-in rooms, information boards, information desks, a touchscreen electronic information system, ticket offices, Internet cafes, post offices, pay phones, car rental and hotel reservation points, currency exchange, ATMs, storage rooms, cafeterias, restaurants, and duty- free shops . There are hotels for pilots and transit passengers, mother-and-child rooms, special playgrounds, first aid rooms, press and retail kiosks, and a conference hall.
The cargo terminal with warehouse facilities is designed to handle 200 thousand tons of cargo per year with a centralized station for refueling aircraft, hangars for technical maintenance of aircraft and helicopters.
The airport territory houses the administrative buildings of the State National Service “Turkmenhowayollary”, the air transport enterprise ” Turkmenistan ” and the flight squad of “Turkmenistan Airlines”. A school for training aviation personnel has been built, where 600 people can study at a time, and a training complex for training crews, a medical and sports and health center, underground and open parking lots – service and for passengers. It is also planned to open a museum of the development of Turkmen aviation.
You can drive to the airport by car either along Bitarap Turkmenistan Avenue or Atamurat Niyazov Avenue. There is a 24-hour parking lot around the airport. Public transport and taxi stops are located at the station square, allowing passengers to be taken to any point in Ashgabat .
The small passenger Terminal 2 of the new Ashgabat International Airport was built on the site of an airport that had existed since Soviet times . It was put into operation on March 26, 2014, temporarily taking over servicing passengers arriving and departing from Ashgabat during the construction of the main passenger terminal of the international airport. The total area of the small terminal is 14 thousand square meters. It is capable of servicing 1,200 passengers per hour on international and domestic flights. It consists of three parts: a local flights area, a VIP area, and an international flights area. After the main airport complex was put into operation in September 2016, the small terminal is used to process passengers departing on domestic flights. Since September 2016, it has only served domestic flights.