Pilots for Turkmenistan Airlines to Be Trained in Turkey

Turkmenistan Airlines has announced a recruitment campaign for candidates to study aviation at the Turkish Aeronautical Association University. The four-year program will be funded by the airline. Selection will be conducted on a competitive basis. Applicants must be male, under the age of 25, hold Turkmen citizenship, and have completed secondary education. Additional requirements include passing a medical examination at the Ashgabat Airport Medical Center and holding a valid military ID. The admission process consists of several stages. Candidates first undergo an initial interview with airline representatives, followed by entrance exams and an interview with representatives of the Turkish university. In the final stage, applicants must pass a medical examination in Ankara. The airline will cover tuition fees, dormitory accommodation, and travel costs, including flights to Ankara at the start of the academic year and return travel to Ashgabat upon completion of the program. However, students will be responsible for certain expenses, including visa fees, health insurance, meals, communication, and local transportation. Upon graduation, participants are required to work for the airline for ten years. Limited Progress in Air Connectivity Despite this initiative, Turkmenistan’s broader aviation sector continues to face challenges. No new international routes have been launched, and several previously announced flights have yet to begin operations. Plans to expand the country’s international air connectivity have been discussed for years, but tangible progress remains limited.

Turkmenistan’s Air Connectivity Shows Little Change Despite Expansion Plans

Turkmenistan’s airport schedules remain largely unchanged, with no new destinations added and previously announced flights yet to begin operating. Plans to expand international air links from Turkmenistan have been discussed for years, but little has changed in practice. At the end of last year, Russia’s S7 Airlines announced the launch of the Ashgabat-Novosibirsk route starting March 31. Tickets went on sale at the time, with flights planned once a week. However, as of early April, the flights are absent both from the airline’s schedule and from airport data. Only connecting options remain in booking systems. No official explanation has been provided, despite considerable interest in the route. Flights from Turkmenistan to Russia remain in high demand, significantly exceeding supply. Tickets sell out almost immediately despite high prices, which passengers often associate with monopoly conditions and possible corruption schemes. At present, the choice is limited to two routes: S7 Airlines operates Ashgabat-Moscow flights, while national carrier Turkmenistan Airlines serves only the Ashgabat-Kazan route. The limited number of direct routes forces passengers to seek alternatives. One of the most common is transit through Uzbekistan. The neighboring country can be reached by land, and from there dozens of flights to Russian cities are available. At the same time, there is separate demand for travel to Uzbekistan itself, including for business, education, and tourism. Nevertheless, Turkmenistan has no direct air links with any neighboring country. The restoration of flights with Uzbekistan was discussed in 2025 by presidents Serdar Berdimuhamedov and Shavkat Mirziyoyev, but no specific timelines or routes have been announced since. Some travel takes place via Azerbaijan. In the first two months of this year, more than 4,000 citizens of Turkmenistan entered the country. A significant share of these trips is related not to tourism but to obtaining European visas, as doing so from within Turkmenistan is more difficult. Meanwhile, discussions on transport cooperation between Ashgabat and Baku have focused mainly on cargo transportation. The only notable change has been an increase in the number of flights between Ashgabat and Istanbul, driven by the foreign carrier Turkish Airlines.