Turkmenistan Airlines

The state-owned service Turkmenistan Airlines was founded 4 May 1992.[7][8] In 1992, Turkmenistan Airlines became the first airline in the former Soviet Union to purchase a Boeing 737-300.[9] In April 1993, Turkmenistan became a full member of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The first flight on a cargo aircraft IL-76 was completed 19 April 1993 from Ashgabat to Brest, Belarus.[10]

From 2001, the airline phased out its Soviet-era fleet for a more modern fleet of Boeing 717s, which were extensively used for service on domestic routes until their retirement. Seven of the 717 series were purchased; the first was presented at the MAKS air show in 2001.[11] On 29 April 2009 a Boeing 737-700 was demonstrated in Ashgabat and on 2 September Boeing announced that Turkmenistan Airlines had confirmed an order for three more such aircraft worth $192 million.[12] Autumn airline supplemented by three Boeing airliners. In May 2009, the airline opened the Lachyn (Turkmen: Laçyn) Hotel in Ashgabat for transit passengers. Designed for 200 guests, it is located on Bitarap Türkmenistan şaýoly, which connects the city center to the Ashgabat Airport.[13][14] On 1 July 2011, the airline began to operate an Electronic ticket system[15][16] on all flights. Booking flights can be carried out in the standard way, but the information about air travel began to given out in the form of a passenger itinerary receipt.[17]

On 8 May 2013, a Boeing 737-800 was delivered.[18][19] on 3 June 2013 a fourth Boeing 737-800 arrived.,[20] and on 18 December 2013 a fifth Boeing 737-800 arrived.[21]

In 2012, the airline began printing the full-colour magazine Lachyn ("Falcon"). This was the first in-flight product in Turkmenistan. The magazine is also distributed in the halls for official delegations and VIP-zones of airports in Turkmenistan.[22] In the same year, the airline carried 57,500 passengers to 15 international destinations and approx. 90,000 passengers on domestic routes per month (c. 1.77 million passengers per year).[23]

In January 2013 regular cargo flights to Brno commenced.[10] In March 2013 a new ticket sales centre was opened at 61 Atatürk Street. This building houses 30 sales offices; 17 for domestic flights and 13 for international routes.[24] In August 2013 a regular passenger flight to Lviv was started.[25] In October of the same year, flights to Donetsk[26] and Riga commenced [27] followed in December by the first scheduled service to Western Europe - Paris.[28] In March 2014, Turkmenistan Airlines announced that it was to commence long-haul flights using its newly acquired Boeing 777-200LRs.[29] The aircraft are currently utilized on flights to Bangkok, Beijing, Birmingham, Delhi and Istanbul.[30]

On 4 February 2019, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) suspended Turkmenistan Airlines' permission to fly in the EU.[31] This forced the airline to terminate its routes to the United Kingdom, France and Germany. In December, Turkmenistan Airlines resumed regular passenger traffic to European Union countries after a 10-month break.[32]

In connection with the COVID-19 pandemic and for the safety of passengers, Turkmenistan Airlines suspended all international regular passenger flights in March 2020.[33][34][35][36] In order to prevent the import and spread of coronavirus infection, all planes arriving in Turkmenistan from abroad are redirected to the Turkmenabat International Airport[37] or Turkmenbashi International Airport.

Since March 2021, Turkmenistan Airlines switched to the new Piece Concept baggage system.[38][39]

Turkmenistan Airlines Boeing 737-800

Turkmenistan Airlines Boeing 757-200

Turkmenistan Airlines Boeing 777-200LR

Turkmenistan Airlines Ilyushin Il-76TD

As of March 2021, Turkmenistan Airlines operates flights to only 6 domestic destinations from its hub at Ashgabat International Airport as well as some additional minor and mainly domestic operations from Turkmenabat Airport and Turkmenbashi Airport.[40][41] The airline also operates dedicated cargo flights.

Media related to Turkmenistan Airlines at Wikimedia Commons

• Official website