Turkmenistan, Ashgabat, Aug. 21 / Trend H.Hasanov /
Turkmenistan Airlines plans to sign a contract with Boeing (United States) for the purchase of Boeing 737-800 aircraft, an official Turkmen source said on Tuesday. The relevant decree was signed by President Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov.
The deal will be concluded under the National Programme for the Development of Civil Aviation of Turkmenistan for 2012-2030, aimed at increasing the number of international flights and further improve the quality of services and increase passenger safety.
In addition, the president signed a decree entrusting Turkmenistan Airlines with signing a contract with Priority Aero Maintenance (Sweden) AB for maintenance at the factory of three Boeing 717-200aircraft, belonging to the national carrier. Now the national air fleet has 19 aircraft comprising Boeing-757, Boeing-737 and Boeing-717.
During the period of implementation of the National Programme for the Development of Civil Aviation of Turkmenistan the number of such aircraft will amount to 39.
Now, Turkmenistan Airlines, in addition to domestic flights, operates scheduled flights to 15 cities in 11 countries: Abu Dhabi, Amritsar, Almaty, Bangkok, Birmingham, Delhi, Dubai, Kiev, London, Moscow, Minsk, Beijing, Istanbul, St. Petersburg and Frankfurt.
In April 1993, Turkmenistan became a full member of the International Civil Aviation Organisation (ICAO), a UN specialised agency. At present, work is on-going on the accession of Turkmenistan to IATA (International Air Transportation Association).