Cargo Terminal

Cargo terminal

Air-freight opera­tions are one of the major types of services provided by Turkmenistan Airlines. The cargo terminal of the Turkmen capital’s airport has every possibility of becoming the region’s largest logistics hub. The cargo terminal is capable of handling 200 tons of cargo per annum. It is located in the western part of the air­port, and has an approach road of its own to allow faster and easier access for trucks and personnel.

The total area of the terminal is 17,174 square meters. In its territory there are: an air car­go ramp with five aircraft stands, export and import zones, two cooling premises, storehouses for keeping different types of cargo. There also provided the mail distributing center of “Turkmenpochta” State Company of the Ministry of Communica­tions of Turkmenistan. The mail center includes mail-handling and sorting halls, engineering and other service rooms. There is an office area for Airmail and Cargo Trans­portation management ser­vices of Ashgabat Interna­tional Airport, offices of the State Customs Service of Turkmenistan and the Veterinary Service.

Modernization of air cargo handling facilities is one of the top priori­ties for the development of the national civil aviation sector. Within the bounds of realization of this aim, a number of inno­vative technological solu­tions have been adopted at Ashgabat International Airport cargo terminal to bring improvements in the business-process.

One of them is an ETV-system (Elevating Transfer Vehicle), the cargo handling system, which in­cludes electronic platforms for loading and unloading cargo in the terminal and on the ramp.As for imported cargo, on arrival an air­craft parks on a stand at the cargo terminal. Loading/unloading operations are conducted with the help of pallets and specialized ground handling equip­ment. The unloaded cargo is transported to the ter­minal, where an operator scans barcoded labels on items of cargo and the data is transmitted to an elec­tronic data center. Then, the palletized cargo is sent into the terminal and is classified in storage areas according to specifics.

When necessary, the operator retrieves the re­quested item automatical­ly: the ETV-system iden­tifies its storage location and delivers it to the load­ing dock.

The terminal of im­port cargo department has 4 loading docks. In the export cargo section, af­ter X-ray scanning, cargo is delivered to the loading dock by forklift loaders or platforms. The operator forwards the palletized car­go to the ETV-system on a conveyor. The section also has 4 loading docks. The ETV-system de­livers cargo to the ramp ac­cording to flight schedules. After the outgoing goods are loaded on dollies, their barcodes are scanned and removed from the sys­tem.The terminal has an automated storage/retrieval system for enlarged ULDs (unit load devices).

The cargo complex is equipped with storage fa­cilities for highly perish­able commodities, valuable, narcotic, radioactive, agri­cultural goods, livestock, etc. The highly auto­mated technological pro­cess, cargo handling and storage systems ensure compliance with interna­tional standards and re­quirements.

Thus, the car­go terminal of Ashgabat In­ternational Airport is the largest and the most advanced air cargo hub not only in our country, but also in the re­gion. Cargo operations have considerable potential for growth in the light of the Turkmen air carrier’s broader participation in the world transit and unique freight market. The transi­tion of the Turkmen econ­omy to innovation-based development also largely contributes to ever-increas­ing demand for freight ser­vices.