Transport - Central Asia - page 473

useful gateway to both
Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan
(Bishkek is just three hours
by road).
Ashgabat International
Airport Less well con-
nected, most reliably by
Lufthansa and Turkish
Airlines. A new airport is cur-
rently under construction,
scheduled to open in 2016.
Astana International
Airport ( % 7172-70 29 99;
www.astanaairport.kz) Has a
range of international flights.
Bishkek Manas
International Airport
(www.airport.kg) Kyrgyzstan's
main hub with relatively
inexpensive international
connections
Dushanbe International
Airport ( % 37-449 44 75;
www.airport.tj) The least
connected, with most people
using Turkish Airlines. The
airport is being upgraded
and plans are afoot to build
a new airport.
Tashkent International
Airport ( % 71-140 28 01;
www.uzairways.com) Possibly
the most central airport
in Eurasia and the busi-
est airport in Central Asia.
More flights go to Tashkent
than to any other city in the
region.
Airlines
The following are the main
Central Asian airlines, of
which Uzbekistan Airways
and Air Astana are the best:
Air Astana (www.airastana.
com; airline code KC; hub
Almaty) Flies Almaty to Abu
Dhabi, Amsterdam, Baku,
Bishkek, Bangkok, Beijing,
Delhi, Dushanbe, Frankfurt,
Ho Chi Minh City, Hong
Kong, İstanbul, Kiev, Kuala
Lumpur, London, Moscow,
Novosibirsk, Prague, Seoul,
St Petersburg, Tashkent,
Tbilisi and Ürümqi; flies
Astana to Abu Dhabi, Baku,
Beijing, Bishkek, Frankfurt,
İstanbul, Kiev, London, Mos-
cow, Novosibirsk, St Peters-
burg, Tashkent, Ürümqi and
Yekaterinburg; flies Atyrau
to Amsterdam and İstanbul;

flies Kostanay to Hanover;
flies Aktau to İstanbul.
Kyrgyzstan Air Company
(AC) (www.air.kg; airline
code QH; hub Bishkek) Flies
to Moscow, Delhi, Dubai,
Tashkent, Ürümqi and other
Russian destinations.
Somon Air (www.somonair.
com; airline code 4J; hub Dush-
anbe) Flies to Almaty, Dubai,
Frankfurt, İstanbul, Moscow,
Novosibirsk, St Petersburg,
Sochi and Ürümqi.
Tajik Air (www.tajikair.tj;
airline code 7J; hub Dushanbe)
Flies to Delhi, İstanbul,
Kabul, Moscow, Sharjah,
Sochi, St Petersburg, Tehran,
Ürümqi, Bishkek, Almaty and
various Siberian cities.
Turkmenistan Airlines
(www.turkmenairlines.com;
airline code T5; hub Ashgabat)
Flies to Abu Dhabi, Almaty,
Amritsar, Bangkok, Beijing,
Birmingham, Delhi, Dubai,
Frankfurt, İstanbul, Kiev,
London, Moscow and St
Petersburg.
Uzbekistan Airways (www.
uzairways.com; airline code HY;
hub Tashkent) Flies to Amrit-
sar, Baku, Bangkok, Beijing,
Delhi, Dubai, Frankfurt,
Geneva, Islamabad, İstanbul,
Kiev, Kuala Lumpur, Lahore,
London, Madrid, Milan, Mos-
cow, New York, Paris, Riga,
Rome, Seoul, Sharjah, Tel
Aviv, Tokyo, Ürümqi and sev-
eral Russian cities; as well
as Astana, Almaty, Ashgabat
and Bishkek.
Smaller Central Asian airlines
with regional flights include:
Air Bishkek (www.airishkek.
kg; airline code Kr; hub
Bishkek) Flies to Moscow,
Seoul and Ürümqi, plus Osh
to Moscow.
Avia Traffic Company
(www.aero.kg; airline code YK;
hub Bishkek) From Bishkek
to Dushanbe, Moscow and
St Petersburg; From Osh to
Moscow, St Petersburg and
Ürümqi.
SCAT (www.scat.kz; airline
code DV; hubs Almaty, Astana,
Shymkent) Kazakh airline flies
to Baku, İstanbul, Kiev, Mos-
cow, Tbilisi and Yerevan.

International airlines that fly
into Central Asia:
Aeroflot (www.aeroflot.ru;
airline code SU; hub
Sheremetyevo-2, Moscow) To
Tashkent and Bishkek four
times weekly.
Air Arabia (www.airarabia.
com; airline code G9; hub
Sharjah) To Almaty.
AirBaltic (www.airbaltic.com;
airline code BT; hub riga) To
Tashkent thrice weekly.
Asiana Airlines (www.fly
asiana.com; airline code OZ;
hub Kimpo Airport, Seoul)
To Tashkent and Almaty.
Austrian Airlines (www.
austrian.com; airline code OS;
hub Vienna) To Astana.
Azerbaijan Airlines (www.
azal.az; airline code AHY;
hub Baku) To Aktau.
British Airways (www.
britishairways.com; airline
code BA; hub London
Heathrow) To Almaty thrice
weekly.
China Southern (www.
csair.com/en, www.flychina
southern.com; airline code CZ;
hub Guangzhou) Ürümqi to
Almaty, Ashgabat, Astana,
Dushanbe, Tashkent and
Bishkek.
Czech Airlines (www.czech
airlines.com; airline code OK;
hub Prague) To Almaty and
Tashkent.
Etihad Airways (www.etihad
airways.com; airline code
EY; hub Abu Dhabi) Daily to
Almaty and four weekly to
Astana.
Fly Dubai (www.flydubai.com;
airline code FZ; hub Dubai) To
Ashgabat, Bishkek, Dush-
anbe and Osh.
Hainan Airlines (www.hnair.
com, www.hainanair.us; airline
code HU; hub Beijing) To
Almaty.
Iran Air (www.iranair.com;
airline code ir; hub Tehran) To
Tashkent.
Iran Aseman (www.iaa.ir;
airline code EP; hub Tehran)
From Tehran and Mashhad
to Dushanbe.
Kam Air (www.flykamair.com;
airline code rQ; hub Kabul) To
Dushanbe.