Manas International Airport

Manas International Airport (Kyrgyz: Манас эл аралык аэропорту, romanized: Manas 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.

Manas International Airport Манас эл аралык аэропорту
IATA: FRU ICAO: UCFM
Summary
Airport type	Joint (Civil and Military)
Serves	Bishkek
Location	Sokuluk District, Kyrgyzstan
Hub for	Aero Nomad Airlines Air Manas Avia Traffic Company Kyrgyzstan Air Company
Elevation AMSL	637 m / 2,090 ft
Coordinates	43°03′41″N 74°28′39″E
Website	fru.port.kg
Map
UCFM Location of Manas International Airport Show map of Kyrgyzstan UCFM UCFM (Asia) Show map of Asia
Runways
Direction Length Surface m ft 08/26 4,204 13,792 Concrete
Statistics (2017)
passenger 3,586,337
Source: AIP Kyrgyzstan[1]

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 December 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]}

After the 11 September terrorist attacks and the beginning of the United States invasion of Afghanistan, the United States Department of Defense immediately sought permission from the Kyrgyz government to use the airport as a military base. U.S. 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 a day and its ILS system meets ICAO CAT II standards, enabling flight operations in low ceilings (30 meters or 100 feet) and visibilities (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

Airlines	Destinations
Aeroflot	Moscow–Sheremetyevo
Aero Nomad Airlines[5]	Delhi, Islamabad, Lahore, Moscow–Vnukovo, Osh Seasonal: Antalya Seasonal charter: Goa–Dabolim, Jeddah, Medina
Air Arabia	Sharjah[6]
Air Astana	Almaty
AJet	Ankara[7]
Avia Traffic Company	Dushanbe, Grozny, Irkutsk, Istanbul,[8] Jalal-Abad, Kazan, Krasnoyarsk–Yemelyanovo, Moscow–Domodedovo, Moscow–Zhukovsky, Novosibirsk, Osh, Saint Petersburg, Surgut, Yekaterinburg
Azerbaijan Airlines	Baku[9]
China Southern Airlines	Beijing–Daxing,[10] Ürümqi[11]
FlyArystan	Turkistan Seasonal: Astana[12]
flydubai	Dubai–International
Flynas	Jeddah[13]
Jazeera Airways	Kuwait City[14]
Loong Air	Chengdu–Tianfu,[15] Xi'an[16]
Nordwind Airlines	Kazan
Pegasus Airlines	Antalya, Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen
Qazaq Air	Almaty[17]
Red Sea Airlines	Seasonal charter: Sharm El Sheikh
Rossiya Airlines	Krasnoyarsk
S7 Airlines	Irkutsk, Novosibirsk
Sunday Airlines	Seasonal charter: Phuket[18]
TezJet	Batken, Isfana, Jalal-Abad, Osh, Issyk-Kul, Tashkent[19]
Turkish Airlines	Istanbul[20]
T'way Air	Seoul–Incheon[21]
Ural Airlines	Moscow–Domodedovo, Moscow–Zhukovsky, Saint Petersburg, Sochi,[22] Yekaterinburg
Uzbekistan Airways	Tashkent
Wizz Air	Abu Dhabi[23]

Cargo

Airlines	Destinations
RUS Aviation[24]	Sharjah
Silk Way Airlines	Baku, Ürümqi
Turkish Cargo[25]	Almaty, Bangkok–Suvarnabhumi, Guangzhou, Islamabad, Istanbul, Shanghai–Pudong
Turkmenistan Airlines Cargo[26]	Turkmenabat
Uzbekistan Airways Cargo	Navoiy
YTO Cargo Airlines[27]	Shijiazhuang

Statistics

Annual traffic

Annual Passenger Traffic^[28]

Year	Passengers	% Change
2012	1,056,000
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	16.3%

Accidents and incidents

• On 23 October 2002, an IL-62 airliner operated by the Tretyakovo Air Transport Company crashed on takeoff after running off the end of the runway. There were no passengers aboard and all eleven crew members escaped, with only minor injuries. The pilot was pulled from the aircraft by responding U.S. Air Force Security Forces personnel of the 111th SFS from the Pennsylvania Air National Guard. The injured were treated at the joint US Air Force and South Korean army clinic at Manas Air Base. The wreckage was bulldozed by Kyrgyz personnel and left at the site. Airport operations resumed before the crash site had finished smoldering.^[29]
• On 26 September 2006, a Kyrgyzstan Airlines Tupolev Tu-154 aircraft taking off for Moscow–Domodedovo collided on the runway with a US Air Force KC-135 tanker that had just landed. The Tupolev, with 52 passengers and nine crew on board, lost part of its wing but was able to take off and return to make a safe landing with a 2.5 m section of its wing missing. The KC-135, with three crew members and a cargo of jet fuel, caught fire and was destroyed. There were no injuries on either aircraft.^[30]
• On 24 August 2008, Iran Aseman Airlines Flight 6895 (a Boeing 737 operated by Itek Air) heading to Tehran with 90 people aboard crashed 3 kilometres (1.9 mi) from the airport, killing 68. Twenty-two people, including two crew members, survived the crash. According to an airport official, the crew had reported a technical problem on board and were returning to the airport when the plane went down.^[31]
• On 28 December 2011, a Kyrgyzstan Airlines Tu-134, which had taken off from Bishkek, crashed while attempting to land at Osh, causing 31 injuries.^[32]
• On 16 January 2017, Turkish Airlines Flight 6491, a Boeing 747-400F operated by ACT Airlines under wet lease for Turkish Cargo, en route from Hong Kong to Istanbul via Bishkek, missed the runway on landing in thick fog, crashing into a village. At least 38 people were killed, including all four crew members and 34 people on the ground.^[33][34][35]

See also

• List of the busiest airports in the former USSR
• Transportation in Kyrgyzstan

References

1. "Aip, Aic". Archived from the original on 22 February 2014.
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. "✅ ✈️️ Fly with Most Affordable and Cheap Ticket Opportunities | AnadoluJet". www.anadolujet.com.
8. "Возобновление рейса БИШКЕК-СТАМБУЛ-БИШКЕК!". aero.kg. Avia Traffic. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
9. "Azerbaijan Airlines Begins Bishkek Service From late-July 2023". AeroRoutes. 27 July 2023. Retrieved 30 July 2023.
10. Janob, Abdullo (26 January 2024). "Kyrgyzstan's international airport welcomes first flight from Beijing". Trend.Az. Trend News Agency. Retrieved 27 January 2024.
11. "China Southern / Xiamen Airlines NW22 International Operations - 30OCT22". AeroRoutes. 31 October 2022. Retrieved 31 October 2022.
12. "Flights Astana - Bishkek!". FlyArystan. Retrieved 7 May 2024.
13. "flynas Adds Jeddah – Kyrgyzstan Routes in 3Q23". AeroRoutes. 28 June 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2023.
14. "StackPath". 30 June 2021.
15. "Loong Air Adds Chengdu – Bishkek From Dec 2023". AeroRoutes. 15 November 2023. Retrieved 15 November 2023.
16. "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.
17. "QAZAQ AIR opens direct flights to Bishkek". www.flyqazaq.com. QAZAQ AIR. Retrieved 10 August 2023.
18. "Flights Availability". pegasys.pegast.ru. 21 March 2018.
19. "TezJet to launch flights from Bishkek to Tashkent". 11 August 2024.
20. "Istanbul New Airport Transition Delayed Until April 5, 2019 (At The Earliest)". 9 April 2019.
21. Seo Ji-Eun (18 April 2023). "T'way to begin regular flights to Kyrgyzstan". Korea JoongAng Daily.
22. "Аэропорт Сочи расширяет международную программу". НИА-Кубань. 7 March 2024. Retrieved 7 March 2024.
23. "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.
24. rusaviation.com - Route map & Schedules retrieved 10 April 2023
25. "Turkish Airlines Cargo Winter Schedule" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 4 June 2013.
26. "Авиакомпания "Туркменистан" запустила регулярные грузовые рейсы в Бишкек | Общество". 4 May 2023.
27. "YTO Express adds Kyrgyzstan freighter flights". 20 January 2020.
28. Manas Airport. "press-centre". Airport.kg.
29. "Accident Database: Accident Synopsis 10232002". Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 1 June 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
30. Flight International, 3–9 October 2006
31. . The crash is the worst ever aviation accident in Kyrgyzstan.68 die, 22 survive airliner crash in Kyrgyzstan
32. "All passengers survive after plane flips over in crash-landing". Yahoo News UK. 29 December 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2015.
33. "Belarus' First Deputy Foreign Minister signs Book of Condolences at Kyrgyzstan's embassy". Belarusin Telegraph Agency. 17 January 2017. Retrieved 17 January 2017.
34. 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.
35. "ASN Aircraft accident Boeing 747-412F TC-MCL Bishkek-Manas International Airport (FRU)". Aviation Safety Network. 16 January 2017. Retrieved 16 January 2017.

External links

Media related to Manas International Airport at Wikimedia Commons

• Manas International Airport Official Website (in English, Kyrgyz, and Russian)
• Manas International Airport (globalsecurity.org)
• Accident history for FRU at Aviation Safety Network
• Airport information for UAFM at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
• Current weather for UAFM at NOAA/NWS

43°03′40.7″N 74°28′39.2″E