Manas International Airport

Manas International Airport (Kyrgyz: Манас эл аралык аэропорту) (IATA: FRU (БИШ), ICAO: UCFM)(formerly UAFM) is the main international airport in Kyrgyzstan located 25 kilometres (16 mi) north-northwest of the capital Bishkek.

The airport is operational 24 hours and its ILS system meets ICAO CAT II standards, which enables aircraft operations in low ceiling (30 meters (98 ft)) and visibility (350 meters (1,150 ft)).

It is also the site of the Transit Center at Manas, formerly known as Manas Air Base, a US Air Force base supporting Operation Enduring Freedom and the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan.

In 2012, the airport handled 1,056,000 passengers.

History

The airport was constructed as a replacement for the old Bishkek airport that was located to the south of the city, and named after the Kyrgyz epic hero, Manas, at the suggestion of country's most prominent writer and intellectual, Chinghiz Aitmatov. The first plane landed at Manas in October 1974, with Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin on board. Aeroflot operated the airport's first scheduled flight to Moscow-Domodedovo on 4 May 1975.