Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, Feb. 7 / Trend H.Hasanov /
Turkmen President Gurbangulu Berdimuhammedov signed a decree appointing Merdan Ayazov as the head of the Turkmen National Airlines, an official Turkmen source reported.
Ayazov replaced Batyr Kakalyev , who was dismissed in mid-January.
Earlier, Berdimuhammedov severely reprimanded Kakaliyev due to the company's weakening control over subordinate organizations.
According to the report, "many violations have been registered in air ticket registration, and health standards are not observed at airports. The services provided to passengers, including meals on aircrafts, do not meet quality requirements." Berdimuhammadov stressed that, in recent years, many citizens have expressed their dissatisfaction with the company.
Since its independence, Turkmenistan has fully reequipped its fleet, replacing Soviet-made aircrafts with the American Aircraft Corporation's Boeing models.
At present, the company's planes make flights to Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Belarus, the UK, Turkey, the UAE, Germany, Thailand, China, India and other countries.
Preliminary intergovernmental agreements have been concluded to establish flights with other countries, particularly with France, South Korea, Georgia and Kyrgyzstan.