Samarkand International Airport ( Uzbek: ''Samarqand Xalqaro Aeroporti'' ) is an

airport of entry In general, a port of entry (POE) is a place where one may lawfully enter a country. It typically has border security staff and facilities to check passports and visas and to inspect luggage to assure that contraband is not imported. Internatio ...

Samarkand Samarkand ( ; Uzbek language, Uzbek and Tajik language, Tajik: Самарқанд / Samarqand, ) is a city in southeastern Uzbekistan and among the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest continuously inhabited cities in Central As ...

Uzbekistan , image_flag = Flag of Uzbekistan.svg , image_coat = Emblem of Uzbekistan.svg , symbol_type = Emblem of Uzbekistan, Emblem , national_anthem = "State Anthem of Uzbekistan, State Anthem of the Republ ...

, 6 km (3.7 mi) from the city center. The airport is operated by

Uzbekistan Airways Open joint stock company, JSC Uzbekistan Airways, operating as ''Uzbekistan Airways'' (, ; ), is the flag carrier of Uzbekistan, headquartered in Tashkent. From its Airline hub, hub at Islam Karimov Tashkent International Airport, the airline s ...

since the airline's creation in 1992. The airport has domestic as well as international flights and is the second-largest airport in Uzbekistan after

Tashkent International Airport Islam Karimov Tashkent International Airport () is the main and the busiest international airport in Uzbekistan and the second busiest airport in Central Asia (after Almaty International Airport in Kazakhstan) as well as List of the busiest air ...

. The airport operates flights across

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, and the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

. It also serves as a hub for Air Samarkand. Samarkand International Airport is located on the northern outskirts of

city at an altitude of 680 meters above sea level.

History

Samarkand International Airport is the first airport in the modern

history of Uzbekistan Uzbekistan is a landlocked country in Central Asia. It is itself surrounded by five landlocked countries: Kazakhstan to the Kazakhstan–Uzbekistan border, north; Kyrgyzstan to the Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan border, northeast; Tajikistan to the T ...

. The initial facilities for the airport were constructed in 1967, including a

runway In aviation, a runway is an elongated, rectangular surface designed for the landing and takeoff of an aircraft. Runways may be a human-made surface (often asphalt concrete, asphalt, concrete, or a mixture of both) or a natural surface (sod, ...

, a small

terminal Terminal may refer to: Computing Hardware * Computer terminal, a set of primary input and output devices for a computer * Terminal (electronics), a device for joining electrical circuits together ** Battery terminal, electrical contact used to ...

, and basic

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and pri ...

. In its early years, the airport mostly operated domestic

charter flights Air charter is the business of renting an entire aircraft (i.e., chartering) as opposed to individual aircraft seats (i.e., purchasing a ticket through a traditional airline). Regulation Charter – also called air taxi or ad hoc – flights ...

, until the first scheduled flights began in the

1980s File:1980s replacement montage02.PNG, 335px, From left, clockwise: The first Space Shuttle, ''Space Shuttle Columbia, Columbia'', lifts off in 1981; US president Ronald Reagan and Soviet Union, Soviet General Secretary of the Communist Party of ...

. The national

airline An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers or freight (cargo). Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines ...

started operating flights to the airport after its establishment in 1992, contributing to an increase in passenger traffic. A new passenger terminal was built in 2009, taxiways were reconstructed, a new air traffic control building was constructed, and modern aeronautical navigation equipment was installed.

Renovation

On November 27, 2018, Uzbek

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

Shavkat Mirziyoyev Shavkat Miromonovich Mirziyoyev (born 24 July 1957) is an Uzbek politician who has served as President of Uzbekistan and Supreme Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of Uzbekistan since 14 December 2016. Previously, Mirziyoyev led the gover ...

signed a decree aimed at improving and modernizing the country's civil aviation sector. In 2020, a comprehensive renovation and construction of a new terminal began. The Uzbek ''Uzbekistan EPC company Enter Engineering'' carried out the project based on a design by the

Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

design firm ''Kiklop Construction''. The new terminal officially opened on March 18, 2022. To enhance Uzbekistan’s tourism potential, fully utilize the capabilities of Samarkand International Airport, and foster competition in the aviation market, an

open skies The freedoms of the air, also called five freedoms of air transport, are a set of commercial aviation rights granting a country's airlines the privilege to enter and land in another country's airspace. They were formulated as a result of disag ...

regime was introduced at Samarkand International Airport on October 1, 2022. In 2022, nine new airlines, including five foreign carriers, began operating flights to Samarkand. Among them were Jazeera Airways, Pobeda, Panorama Airways, China Southern, Silk Avia, Humo Air, Centrum Air, SunExpress, and UVT Aero. In 2023, the airport served 1.01 million passengers. It is one of the busiest airports in Uzbekistan. International flights accounted for 918,500 passengers (a 106.4% increase), while domestic routes handled 92,300 passengers (91.2% growth). The most popular regional destination was Tashkent.

New Terminal

The new terminal was officially inaugurated on March 18, 2022, with the first flight being HY-045/046 from

Tashkent Tashkent (), also known as Toshkent, is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Uzbekistan, largest city of Uzbekistan. It is the most populous city in Central Asia, with a population of more than 3 million people as of April 1, 2024. I ...

. Weekly flights increased from 40 to approximately 120. During the renovation, 24 new parking stands for all types of

aircraft An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to flight, fly by gaining support from the Atmosphere of Earth, air. It counters the force of gravity by using either Buoyancy, static lift or the Lift (force), dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, i ...

were constructed, along with eight

gates Gates is the plural of gate, a point of entry to a space which is enclosed by walls. It may also refer to: People * Gates (surname), various people with the last name * Gates Brown (1939-2013), American Major League Baseball player * Gates McFadd ...

. Additionally, 29 check-in desks, 10 passport control counters, and six e-gates were added for departing

passengers A passenger is a person who travels in a vehicle, but does not bear any responsibility for the tasks required for that vehicle to arrive at its destination or otherwise operate the vehicle, and is not a steward. The vehicles may be bicycles, ...

. With a total area of 41,216m², the terminal’s capacity expanded from handling 300 to 1,000 passengers per hour, with annual passenger volume expected to grow from 460,000 to 2 million. The design resembles an open book, inspired by the

astronomer An astronomer is a scientist in the field of astronomy who focuses on a specific question or field outside the scope of Earth. Astronomers observe astronomical objects, such as stars, planets, natural satellite, moons, comets and galaxy, galax ...

Ulugh Beg Mīrzā Muhammad Tarāghāy bin Shāhrukh (; ), better known as Ulugh Beg (; 22 March 1394 – 27 October 1449), was a Timurid sultan, as well as an astronomer and mathematician. Ulugh Beg was notable for his work in astronomy-related ma ...

. The roof is designed to resemble a star chart. The airport complex offers all types of services in line, including VIP and CIP lounges, a mother and child room, a medical station, ticket counters, post offices, domestic and international telephone communication, bars, restaurants, a currency exchange booth, and a Duty-Free shop. On August, 2022, Samarkand Airport became the first in Uzbekistan to introduce eGates. The system enables automated passport control, featuring document scanners and high-resolution cameras.

Infrastructure

The airport has a single asphalt-concrete runway with dimensions of 3100x60 meters (runway 09/27). After a general reconstruction, the airport is certified under ICAO Category 1 and can accommodate all types of aircraft, including the Il-62, Il-86, Tu-154, Airbus A310, Airbus A320, Boeing 737, Boeing 757, and Boeing 767.

Airlines and destinations

Transportation

Rental car services are provided by Hertz Rent A Car,

Sixt Sixt SE is an international mobility service provider with about 2,000 locations in more than 100 countries. Sixt SE acts as a parent and holding company of the Sixt Group, which is internationally active in the business areas of vehicle rental, ...

and

Europcar Europcar Mobility Group is a French car rental company founded in 1949 in Paris. The head office of the holding company, Europcar Group S.A., is in the business park of Val Saint-Quentin at Voisins-le-Bretonneux (Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines), Fr ...

. South of the terminal, there is a hotel. Additionally, there is a connection to the M37 highway, which runs north of the airport. The forecourt area refers to the transport lines closest to the terminals, designated as part of the aviation security zone. Entry to this area is permitted only for public transport and taxis for passenger pickup. Access to the forecourt area exceeding the 15-minute limit is subject to a fee.

Public transport

Daily from 6:00 AM to 9:00 PM, buses No. 52, 31, and M1 run from the central bus station and the Samarkand railway station to the airport. The travel time is approximately 15 minutes. The airport bus stop is located in front of the passenger terminal building, near the entrance and exit of the terminal.

Taxi

There are local Uzbek company Taxi OK and Russian

Yandex Taxi Yandex Taxi (; stylised as Yandex.Taxi), a division of Yandex, operates a ridesharing company in Russia, Moldova, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, Serbia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, Israel and UAE. The Yandex Taxi div ...

offering services at Samarkand International Airport.

Statistics

References

External links

* {{Authority control Airports in Uzbekistan Buildings and structures in Samarkand