Turkmenistan’s Architecturally Stunning Ashgabat International Airport Opens

Turkmenistan’s new International Airport, built by Turkish construction company Polimeks opened to the public on the 17th September. The design of the new Ashgabat International Airport Complex was inspired from Oguz Khan and the falcon which is one of the national symbols of Turkmenistan.

In fact, the falcon shaped building has been recognised by numerous authorities. The tribal carpet patterns on the ceiling of the aircraft “Carpet Gul” have been acknowledged by the Guiness Book of Records as the largest Gul in the world, and the World Record Academy, headquartered in America, registered the building as the “Largest Bird Shaped Building.”

The beautiful and impressive design will play host to 14 million domestic and international travellers. The Airport Complex consists of 266 buildings with different functions and constructed on the site area of 12 million m2 including 2,5 million m2 area of runways, taxi ways and aprons.

The airport design is more than just a beautiful facade, care and attention has gone into creating the “World’s First Smart Airport.” In addition to a CAT III ILS equipped new 3, 840 m long runway with the Code 4F capacity, which is suitable for landing and take-off of the contemporary Airbus A380 and Boeing B747-8 aircrafts, the other existing Code 4E and CAT II ILS equipped runway will continue to provide service.

Inside, the building continues to impress. The 166,000 sqm building covers all the bases to provide the best service to passengers from main entrance hall to luggage area, from cafes and restaurants to duty free shops, from business & VIP lounges to its 5 star hotel.

The terminal building consists of 4 main blocks; The Terminal, Pier, Star, and Bridges. A simple and coherent layout provides the passengers with well-defined routes of progression from landside to airside and vice versa. Linear arrangement between the blocks minimizes level changes and walking distances and creates a functional state-of-the-art passenger terminal building to serve 14 million annual passengers for the year 2036.

General Facts & Measurements About The Main Terminal Building;

• Building height: 46 m
• Building length: 711 m
• Building width: 356 m
• Food & Beverage Area: 3,900 m2
• Duty Free & Retail: 1,100 m2
• Business Class Lounges: 2,875 m2
• VIP/CIP Lounges: 2,335 m2
• Hotel: 2,450 m2
• Aviation Museum: 400 m2
• Baggage Handling Area: 8,000 m2
• Medical Areas: 670 m2

The new Ashgabat International Airport Complex also houses a VIP Terminal for the use of the President of Turkmenistan and State Guests. The new VIP Terminal which design was inspired from the dove, another global cultural element, symbolizing peace is built on 146 acres and has 152 m. x 88 m. building size. New connection roads, a VIP bridge and apron & taxi ways built on 68 acres were constructed for the VIP Terminal.

The Big Picture