Manas International Airport

Манас эл аралык аэропорту
Bishkek - Manas (FRU - UAFM) AN1593528.jpg
Summary
Airport typeJoint (Civil and Military)
ServesBishkek
LocationSokuluk District, Kyrgyzstan
Hub for
Elevation AMSL637 m / 2,090 ft
Coordinates43°03′41″N 74°28′39″E / 43.06139°N 74.47750°E / 43.06139; 74.47750
Websitewww.airport.kg
Map
UCFM is located in Kyrgyzstan
UCFM
UCFM
Location of Manas International Airport
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
08/26 4,204 13,792 Concrete
Statistics (2017)
passenger3,586,337
Source: AIP Kyrgyzstan[1]

Manas International Airport (Kyrgyz: Манас эл аралык аэропорту, romanizedManas El Aralyk Aeroportu ; Russian: Международный аэропорт «Манас») (IATA: FRU, ICAO: UCFM) is the main international airport in Kyrgyzstan, located 25 kilometres (16 mi) north-northwest of the capital Bishkek.

History

The airport was constructed as a replacement for the former Bishkek airport that was located to the south of the city, and named after Kyrgyz epic hero, Manas, suggested by writer and intellectual Chinghiz Aitmatov. The first plane landed at Manas in October 1974, with Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin on board. Aeroflot operated the first scheduled flight to Moscow–Domodedovo on 4 May 1975.[citation needed]

When Kyrgyzstan gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, the airport began a steady decline as its infrastructure was neglected for almost ten years and a sizable aircraft boneyard developed. Approximately 60 derelict aircraft from the Soviet era, ranging in size from helicopters to full-sized airliners, were left in mothballs on the airport ramp at the eastern end of the field.[citation needed]

With the beginning of Operation Enduring Freedom, the United States and its coalition partners immediately sought permission from the Kyrgyz government to use the airport as a military base for operations in Afghanistan. Coalition forces arrived in late December 2001 and immediately the airport saw unprecedented expansion of operations and facilities.[citation needed] The derelict aircraft were rolled into a pasture next to the ramp to make room for coalition aircraft, and large, semi-permanent hangars were constructed to house coalition fighter aircraft. Additionally, a Marsden Matting parking apron was built along the Eastern half of the runway, along with a large cargo depot and several aircraft maintenance facilities. A tent city sprang up across the street from the passenger terminal, housing over 2,000 troops. The American forces christened the site "Ganci Air Base", after New York Fire Department chief Peter J. Ganci, Jr., who was killed in the 11 September terrorist attacks. It was later given the official name of Manas Air Base, renamed Transit Center at Manas in 2009, and closed and handed over to Kyrgyz authorities in 2014.[citation needed]

In 2004, a new parking ramp was added in front of the passenger terminal to make room for larger refueling and transport aircraft such as the KC-135 and C-17.

Around the same time the Kyrgyz government performed a major expansion and renovation of the passenger terminal, funded in part by the sizable landing fees paid by coalition forces. Several restaurants, gift shops, and barber shops sprang-up in the terminal catering to the deployed troops.

The airport terminal underwent renovation and redesign in 2007.[2] The contemporary IATA codename FRU originates from the Soviet name of the city of Bishkek, then called Frunze. In 2012, the airport handled 1,056,000 passengers.

Facilities

The airport operates 24 hours and its ILS system meets ICAO CAT II standards, enabling flight operations in low ceiling (30 meters or 100 feet) and visibility (350 m or 1,150 ft).

During its existence Kyrgyzstan Airlines had its head office on the airport property. On 2 January 2002 the airline moved its head office to the Kyrgyzstan Airlines Sales Agency building of Manas International Airport.[3] Previously the head office was also on the grounds of the airport.[4]

Airlines and destinations

Passenger

AirlinesDestinations
Aeroflot Moscow–Sheremetyevo
Aero Nomad Airlines[5] Delhi, Islamabad, Lahore, Moscow–Vnukovo, Osh
Seasonal charter: Antalya, Goa–Dabolim, Jeddah, Medina
Air Arabia Sharjah[6]
Air Astana Almaty, Astana
Air Kyrgyzstan Osh
Air Manas Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen, Moscow–Domodedovo, Osh, Tashkent[7]
Avia Traffic Company Dushanbe, Grozny, Irkutsk, Istanbul,[8] Jalal-Abad, Kazan, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk–Yemelyanovo, Moscow–Domodedovo, Moscow–Zhukovsky, Novosibirsk, Osh, Saint Petersburg, Surgut, Voronezh, Yekaterinburg
Azimuth Rostov-on-Don[9][10]
China Southern Airlines Ürümqi[11]
FlyArystan Astana (resumes 2 May 2023),[12] Turkistan
flydubai Dubai–International
Hunnu Air Ulaanbaatar
Jazeera Airways Kuwait City[13]
Loong Air Xi'an[14]
Pegasus Airlines Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen
Qazaq Air Almaty[15]
S7 Airlines Novosibirsk
SalamAir Muscat[16]
Sunday Airlines Seasonal charter: Phuket[17]
TezJet Airlines Batken, Isfana, Jalal-Abad, Osh
Turkish Airlines Istanbul[18]
Ural Airlines Moscow–Domodedovo, Moscow–Zhukovsky, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg
Uzbekistan Airways Tashkent
Varesh Airlines Mashhad
Wizz Air Abu Dhabi (begins 1 June 2023)[19]

Cargo

AirlinesDestinations
RUS Aviation Sharjah
Silk Way Airlines Baku, Ürümqi
Turkish Cargo Almaty, Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Guangzhou, Islamabad, Istanbul, Shanghai–Pudong[20]
Turkmenistan Airlines Cargo Turkmenabat[21]
Uzbekistan Airways Cargo Navoi
YTO Cargo Airlines Shijiazhuang[22]

Chartered

Air India operated special flights in 2020 to bring back stranded Indians in Kyrgyzstan due to restrictions caused by COVID-19.[23][24]

Aerostan is a cargo carrier operating out of Bishkek, which focuses on chartered cargo flights.

Statistics

Annual traffic

Annual Passenger Traffic[25]
Year Passengers % Change
2012 1,056,000 Steady
2013 N/A N/A
2014 N/A N/A
2015 N/A N/A
2016 3,082,931 N/A
2017 3,586,337 Increase 16.3%

Accidents and incidents

See also

References

  1. ^ AIP Kyrgyzstan
  2. ^ Manas airport in Bishkek is completely modernised (in Russian)
  3. ^ "Kyrgyzstan airlines head office changes its address." Kyrgyzstan Airlines. 3 October 2002. Retrieved on 28 December 2011. "Now it's located in the building of the former Frunze Airport or Kyrgyzstan Airlines Sales Agency. Its new address is – Mir prospect 95."
  4. ^ "World Airline Directory." Flight International. 4–10 April 2000. 114.
  5. ^ "Home". Aero Nomad Airlines.
  6. ^ "Air Arabia".
  7. ^ "NEW DESTINATION: BISHKEK-TASHKENT-BISHKEK". airmanas.com. Air Manas. Retrieved 5 December 2017.
  8. ^ "Возобновление рейса БИШКЕК-СТАМБУЛ-БИШКЕК!". aero.kg. Avia Traffic. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  9. ^ "Авиакомпания "Азимут" начала полеты за рубеж". ato.ru. 1 October 2018.
  10. ^ Liu, Jim (10 October 2018). "Azimuth adds Bishkek service from late-Sep 2018". Routesonline. Retrieved 10 October 2018.
  11. ^ "China Southern / Xiamen Airlines NW22 International Operations - 30OCT22". AeroRoutes. 31 October 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
  12. ^ "FLYARYSTAN 2Q23 NETWORK EXPANSION – 09FEB23". Aeroroutes. 11 February 2023. Retrieved 4 March 2023.
  13. ^ "StackPath".
  14. ^ "3月26日起,长龙航空2023夏航季换季航线全新上线". Retrieved 8 March 2023.
  15. ^ "Qazaq Air to connect Kazakhstan with more international destinations". www.inform.kz (in Russian). KazInform. 5 March 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  16. ^ "SalamAir expands network with flights to Kyrgyzstan cities". Trade Arabia. Retrieved 13 December 2021.
  17. ^ "Flights Availability". pegasys.pegast.ru. 21 March 2018.
  18. ^ "Istanbul New Airport Transition Delayed Until April 5, 2019 (At The Earliest)". 9 April 2019.
  19. ^ "Wizz Air Abu Dhabi Growth Continues with the Addition of a New Aircraft, Expanding its Ever Growing Network". Airline Suppliers. 28 February 2023. Retrieved 6 April 2023.
  20. ^ Turkish Airlines Cargo Winter Schedule Archived 4 June 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  21. ^ "Авиакомпания «Туркменистан» запустила регулярные грузовые рейсы в Бишкек | Общество".
  22. ^ "YTO Express adds Kyrgyzstan freighter flights". 20 January 2020.
  23. ^ "Indian Nationals' Evacuation - COVID-19" (PDF). 13 May 2020. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 June 2022. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  24. ^ "Air India Flight With Indian Students From Kyrgyzstan Lands In Indore". NDTV.com. 22 June 2020. Retrieved 28 June 2022.
  25. ^ Manas Airport. "press-centre". Airport.kg.
  26. ^ "Accident Database: Accident Synopsis 10232002". Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 1 June 2015.((cite web)): CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  27. ^ Flight International, 3–9 October 2006
  28. ^ . The crash is the worst ever aviation accident in Kyrgyzstan.68 die, 22 survive airliner crash in Kyrgyzstan
  29. ^ "All passengers survive after plane flips over in crash-landing". Yahoo News UK. 29 December 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
  30. ^ "Belarus' First Deputy Foreign Minister signs Book of Condolences at Kyrgyzstan's embassy". Belarusin Telegraph Agency. 17 January 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
  31. ^ Hradecky, Simon (16 January 2017). "Crash: MyCargo B744 at Bishkek on Jan 16th 2017, impacted terrain on go around". The Aviation Herald. Retrieved 16 January 2017.
  32. ^ "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 747-412F TC-MCL Bishkek-Manas International Airport (FRU)". Aviation Safety Network. 16 January 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2017.

Media related to Manas International Airport at Wikimedia Commons

Coordinates: 43°03′40.7″N 74°28′39.2″E / 43.061306°N 74.477556°E / 43.061306; 74.477556