Ashgabat Airport , also known as Saparmurat Turkmenbashy International Airport, is one of two international airports in Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan

Turkmenistan , formerly also known as Turkmenia is one of the Turkic states in Central Asia. Until 1991, it was a constituent republic of the Soviet Union, the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic . Turkmenistan is one of the six independent Turkic states...

. It is located approximately 10 km (6 mi) northwest of the capital Ashgabat (Ashkhabad). The airport, with its air traffic control tower and a 12000 feet (3,657.6 m)-long precision-approach runway (12L-30R), opened in 1994 and was named after the country's first president, Saparmyrat Niyazov.

Criticism

As a 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."

New airport

In Ashgabat will be built a new international airport "Oguz Khan", which will be equipped with the latest science and technology. Their willingness to participate in the development and implementation of this project already have well-known companies from Germany, France and other countries.

Airlines and destinations