For many years booking a flight on Turkmenistan Airlines had to be done through your tour company or by contacting a Turkmenistan Airlines agent. These agents were few and far between and were not really the fastest at responding.
Thankfully, now, that has all changed and Turkmenistan Airline’s website now has the option to pay using a foreign credit card.
What do you need to know?
When booking through their website you need to make sure you select “foreign passport”, this will allow you to use a foreign card.
What cards are accepted?
You can use both Mastercard and Visa to book flights and you will be charged in USD.
Where can I fly?
Turkmenistan Airlines has operates several routes in Asia and Europe and is a great option to fly between Asia in Europe using Ashgabat as a transit airport. In Europe you can fly from London (Gatwick), Frankfurt and Milan and in Asia, you can fly to Bangkok, Dubai, Istanbul, Kuala Lumpur, Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City, Beijing and Delhi.
Domestic flights?
If you are travelling to Turkmenistan, you may have domestic flights on your itinerary. As all travel to Turkmenistan requires you to book with an agency, we advise you not to use the website to book domestic flights. This is largely because there can be changes to flight schedules and even from which airport your flight will go. These can be easily dealt with by your travel agency you book with (such as us at Saiga Tours) however if you have booked it yourself you may just lose your booking and your money or you may have to wait a long time to get a refund.
Ashgabat as a transit airport?
Flying Turkmenistan between Southeast Asia and Europe is a great cost-effective option that is now available. Especially routes between the European cities they service and Bangkok, Kuala Lumpur or Ho Chi Minh City. Flights run twice a week between each city and the flights are never really full, which makes for an extremely comfortable long-haul journey.
Obviously if you’re just transiting then you won’t be able to leave the airport, as you won’t have that important LOI that all tours to Turkmenistan require. You will be directed to a transit zone where you will wait for your flight. You can buy water, snacks and some food here and you can use USD, EUR and local Turkmenistan Manat if you have some. You won’t be able to pay for anything with a card so best to be prepared with some USD small notes for your journey as these will be the easiest to pay with if you don’t have manat. There are signs for a food court and a business class lounge, however these are currently not open. You can also buy some duty free here including some very cheap beer which you are allowed to drink in the airport, but not onboard Turkmenistan Airlines.
There is sometimes Wi-fi available and it sometimes works without the need for a VPN, however don’t rely on this as the speed is slow.
You should also note that photos inside the airport are not allowed, and if a guard sees you they will stop you and tell you to delete them.
Should I book through the website?
We think yes! We have looked through several 3
rd
party sites and even have talked directly to agents and the Turkmenistan Airlines’ website is the cheapest way to book flights with the airline. We successfully have taken flights now using tickets purchased here and we will absolutely be doing it again in future.
If you don’t want to just transit in Turkmenistan but would like to join us in this amazing country, then check out our
website here
for our group tour dates. If you’d prefer not to travel in a group then send us an email to
[email protected]
and we will sort you out!
