The state-owned service Turkmenistan Airlines was founded 4 May 1992. In 1992, Turkmenistan Airlines became the first airline in the former Soviet Union to purchase a Boeing 737-300. In April 1993, Turkmenistan became a full member of the International Civil Aviation Organization. The first flight on a cargo aircraft IL-76 was completed 19 April 1993 from Ashgabat to Brest, Belarus. From 2001, the airline phased out its Soviet-era fleet for a more modern fleet of Boeing 717s, which were extensively used for service on domestic routes until their retirement. Seven of the 717 series were purchased; the first was presented at the MAKS air show in 2001. On April 29, 2009 a Boeing 737-700 was demonstrated in Ashgabat and on 2 September Boeing announced that Turkmenistan Airlines had confirmed an order for three more such aircraft worth $192 million. Autumn airline supplemented by three Boeing airliners. In May 2009, the airline opened the Lachin hotel in Ashgabat for transit passengers. Designed for 200 guests, it is located on Avenue of Neutrality, which connects the city center to the Ashgabat Airport. On July 1, 2011, the airline began to operate an Electronic ticket system on all flights. Booking flights can be carried out in the standard way, but the information about air travel began to given out in the form of a passenger itinerary receipt. On May 8, 2013, a Boeing 737-800 was delivered. on June 3, 2013 a fourth Boeing 737-800 arrived., and on December 18, 2013 a fifth Boeing 737-800 arrived. In 2012, the airline began printing the full-colour magazine "Lachin". This was the first in-flight product in Turkmenistan. The magazine is also distributed in the halls for official delegations and VIP-zones of airports in Turkmenistan. In the same year, the airline carried 57,500 passengers to 15 international destinations and approx. 90,000 passengers on domestic routes per month. In January 2013 regular cargo flights to Brno commenced. In March 2013 a new ticket sales centre was opened at 61 Atatürk Street. This building houses 30 sales offices; 17 for domestic flights and 13 for international routes. In August 2013 a regular passenger flight to Lviv was started. In October of the same year, flights to Donetsk and Riga commenced followed in December by the first scheduled service to Western Europe - Paris. In March 2014, Turkmenistan Airlines announced that it was to commence long-haul flights using its newly acquired Boeing 777-200LRs. The aircraft are currently utilized on flights to Bangkok, Beijing, Birmingham, Delhi and Istanbul. On 4 February 2019, the European Aviation Safety Agency suspended Turkmenistan Airlines' permission to fly in the EU. This forced the airline to terminate its routes to the United Kingdom, France and Germany. In December, Turkmenistan Airlines resumed regular passenger traffic to European Union countries after a 10-month break.
Destinations
, Turkmenistan Airlines operates flights to 23 domestic and international destinations from its hub at Ashgabat International Airport as well as some additional minor and mainly domestic operations from Turkmenabat Airport and Turkmenbashi Airport. The airline also operates dedicated cargo flights.
Codeshare agreements
Turkmenistan Airlines has code share agreements with the following airlines:
