Bishkek Airport Officially Changes Airport Code

Ben Crowley

Sept. 5, 2025

Bishkek, the capital of the mountainous Central Asian republic of Kyrgyzstan, has changed its airport code from FRU to BSZ.

Bishkek airport is the main port of entry into the country, and the busiest airport in Kyrgyzstan. The majority of arrivals and tourists entering Kyrgyzstan will most likely have the experience of landing and taking off at the airport.

The current airport was originally opened in 1974 and was named Frunze airport, the same name as the city itself. It’s airport code until very recently was therefore FRU. The city of Frunze, in turn, was named after the famous and well respected Bolshevik revolutionary and red army general.

In 1991, following Kyrgyzstan’s independence from the Soviet Union, the city of Frunze was renamed Bishkek, a nod to its pre-Soviet heritage and Kyrgyz identity. The name Bishkek is believed to originate from a Kyrgyz word referring to a churn used to make fermented mare’s milk, a traditional drink central to Kyrgyz culture. Despite this change, the airport retained its Soviet-era name, Frunze Airport, and the FRU code.

On the 9 ^th of May, 2025, the airport officially announced it would change its airport code to BSZ, and the airport name to Manas airport, a name unofficially already in use for many years. The decision became effective on the 9 ^th of August, 3 months later, with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) approving the change.

The new airport code and name is another measure aimed at de-sovietisation of the country, while promoting its own ethnic Kyrgyz identity.

The change has caused some issues with passengers complaining they were refused boarding for having tickets to the airport FRU, which no longer exists.

It was reported that BSZ was not the first choice of airport and government authorities. Favoured options were BSH, MAN, or, MNS, but unfortunately those options were already taken by other airports. BSZ was also already assigned to a small airport in Alaska. However, the Alaskan airport, Barletts, has not had any take offs or landings since 2008, so it was an easy decision to reassign it to Bishkek.