The head of "Turkmen Airlines" announced the launch of new passenger and cargo flights
04.05.2023 | 16:27 |
Turkmenistan Airlines is gradually resuming regular international passenger flights and plans to expand the geography of passenger flights to destinations such as Seoul (South Korea), Tokyo (Japan), Milan (Italy), Jeddah (Saudi Arabia), Ho Chi Minh City and Hanoi (Vietnam). This was stated by the Chairman of the Agency "Turkmen Airlines" Dovran Saburov, speaking on Thursday at the international forum on transport and transit corridors in Ashgabat.
He stressed that more than 700 million US dollars were invested by the state to implement the goals and projects of the national air carrier.
Saburov noted that, despite the instability around the world, in 2023, an overall increase in passenger traffic is expected by 168.7% compared to 2021, and by 136.3% compared to 2022. The expected growth in cargo transportation will be 155.4% compared to 2021, and 112.7% compared to last year.
This year, the airline's fleet of cargo aircraft has been replenished with new Airbus A330-200 P2E cargo aircraft. They have already successfully started cargo flights on Asia-Europe routes to such countries as South Korea, Vietnam, China, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the Russian Federation, to European countries - Germany, France, the Czech Republic and it is planned to introduce new destinations - Milan (Italy), Tokyo (Japan) and Hong Kong (China).
Thus, the volume of cargo transportation is doubling. In general, it is planned to increase cargo turnover to 60 thousand tons per year, the chairman of the agency said.
The system of ground infrastructure of civil aviation of Turkmenistan includes modern airports that meet international standards. The country's leading airport, Ashgabat International Airport, is the largest in Central Asia and one of the world's leading airports in terms of technological equipment of the airfield category CAT III - ICAO-4F with a capacity of 1,600 people per hour. The airport's cargo warehouse is capable of handling 200,000 tons of cargo per year, which in turn is an ideal logistics hub between Europe and Asia.
Turkmenbashi International Airport with the ICAO 4E design criterion is equipped with the latest equipment, machinery and mechanisms that allow ensuring flight safety and passenger service quality at a high level. The cargo warehouse is capable of handling 16 thousand tons of cargo per year. The airport has all the possibilities for multimodal transportation through the seaport in the city of Turkmenbashi, as well as by road and via the North-South railway. Turkmenabat International Airport, with the ICAO 4E characteristic, has a runway of 3800 meters that accepts different types of aircraft. The capacity of the terminal is 500 passengers per hour. And its cargo terminal is capable of handling 200 tons of cargo per year and has the status necessary for the transportation of goods to or through the EU countries, in accordance with the requirements in force since July 2014. The airport has all the capabilities to handle transit and multimodal cargo and will connect neighboring countries Uzbekistan and Afghanistan.
The international airports of Mary and Dashoguz with the ICAO design criterion 4E and with a runway length of 3800 meters have the ability to accept all types of wide-body aircraft, and Kerki International Airport, with a capacity of 100 passengers per hour, fully meets modern requirements and international standards, primarily in the field of flight safety and high-level passenger service.
In July last year, construction began on an international airport complex in the city of Jebel in the Balkan province, designed to serve 100 passengers per hour.
Saburov is particularly pleased to emphasize that more than 3 billion US dollars have been invested to maintain the appropriate level of Turkmenistan's international airports. There are other programs of state support for the industry, he said.
Aeronautical maintenance of aircraft in the airspace of Turkmenistan is provided in accordance with international standards, ensuring flight safety. Over the past two years, an additional 7 new international routes have been opened, which allow airlines to reduce the cost of flights, as well as the load on other air routes.
A simplified procedure for issuing permits to aircraft of foreign airlines for overflights and technical landings on the territory of Turkmenistan was also introduced, which gave a noticeable increase in overflights through the territory of the country.
According to Saburov, in 2023, the total growth of the air traffic flow is expected to be 224.5% compared to 2021 and 142.6% compared to 2022.
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