| The taxi was a bit long and the runway a little rough, but it was a beautiful day at Manas. The Kyrgyz countryside is really breathtaking from the air! Some information about Manas Airport from Wikipedia: Manas International Airport (Kyrgyz: «Манас» эл-аралык аэропорту) (IATA: FRU, ICAO: 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 is ICAO CAT 2. Fog can cause heavy delays especially for long haul flights. 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 2007, 625500 passengers passed through the airport, an increase of 21% over the previous year. 23172 tonnes of cargo were also processed in 2007. 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. When Kyrgyzstan gained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991, the airport began a slow but steady decline as its infrastructure remained neglected for ... |
