Air Bishkek (russian: Эйр Бишкек) was an
airline
An airline is a company that provides civil aviation, air transport services for traveling passengers and freight. Airlines use aircraft to supply these services and may form partnerships or Airline alliance, alliances with other airlines for ...
based in
Bishkek
Bishkek ( ky, Бишкек), ), formerly Pishpek and Frunze, is the capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. The region surrounds the city, although the city itself is not part of ...
,
Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan,, pronounced or the Kyrgyz Republic, is a landlocked country in Central Asia. Kyrgyzstan is bordered by Kazakhstan to the north, Uzbekistan to the west, Tajikistan to the south, and the People's Republic of China to the east. ...
, with its operational base at
Manas International Airport
Manas International Airport ( ky, Манас эл аралык аэропорту, Manas El Aralyk Aeroportu ; russian: Международный аэропорт «Манас») is the main international airport in Kyrgyzstan, located north- ...
. It was founded as Eastok Avia (E4/EAA) in 2006 and renamed to Kyrgyz Airways.
[Kyrgyz carrier at rusaviainsider.com, Retrieved 18 August 2016](_blank)
/ref> In 2011 the airline was again rebranded into Air Bishkek. Due to alleged poor safety standards in Kyrgyzstan, the airline has been included in the List of air carriers banned in the European Union
The European Union (EU) publishes a list of air carriers that are banned from entering the airspace of any of its member states, usually for failing to meet EU regulatory oversight standards. The first version of the list was published in 2006, ...
since 12 October 2006. The airline stopped operating in February 2016 after experiencing financial difficulties. As of June 2016, its Air Operator Certificate has been suspended.
Destinations
Air Bishkek operated flights to the following destinations:
;China
:Ürümqi
Ürümqi ( ; also spelled Ürümchi or without umlauts), formerly known as Dihua (also spelled Tihwa), is the capital of the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the far northwest of the People's Republic of China. Ürümqi developed its ...
– Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport
Ürümqi Diwopu International Airport is an airport serving Ürümqi, the capital of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region in northwestern China. It is located in Diwopu township of Xinshi district, northwest of downtown Ürümqi. A hub for ...
;Kyrgyzstan
:Bishkek
Bishkek ( ky, Бишкек), ), formerly Pishpek and Frunze, is the capital and largest city of Kyrgyzstan. Bishkek is also the administrative centre of the Chüy Region. The region surrounds the city, although the city itself is not part of ...
– Manas International Airport
Manas International Airport ( ky, Манас эл аралык аэропорту, Manas El Aralyk Aeroportu ; russian: Международный аэропорт «Манас») is the main international airport in Kyrgyzstan, located north- ...
(base)
:Osh
Osh (Kyrgyz: Ош, romanised Osh; uz, O‘sh/Ўш) is the second-largest city in Kyrgyzstan, located in the Fergana Valley in the south of the country and often referred to as the "capital of the south". It is the oldest city in the country (e ...
– Osh Airport
Osh International Airport ( ky, Ош эл аралык аэропорту; russian: Международный аэропорт "Ош") is an airport serving Osh, the capital of Osh Region (''oblast'') of Kyrgyzstan.
In 2016, 1,210,576 passe ...
(base)
;Russia
:Irkutsk
Irkutsk ( ; rus, Иркутск, p=ɪrˈkutsk; Buryat language, Buryat and mn, Эрхүү, ''Erhüü'', ) is the largest city and administrative center of Irkutsk Oblast, Russia. With a population of 617,473 as of the 2010 Census, Irkutsk is ...
– International Airport Irkutsk
Irkutsk International Airport ( Russian: Международный Аэропорт Иркутск) is an international airport on the outskirts of Irkutsk, Russia, at a distance of 60 kilometers (37 miles) from Lake Baikal.
Operations
The ai ...
:Moscow
Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...
– Moscow Domodedovo Airport
Domodedovo Airport ( rus, links=no, Домодедово аэропорт, p=dəmɐˈdʲɛdəvə) (IATA: DME, ICAO: UUDD), formally Domodedovo Mikhail Lomonosov International Airport, is an international airport serving Moscow, the capital of Rus ...
:Surgut
Surgut ( rus, Сургу́т, p=sʊrˈgut; Khanty: Сәрханӆ, ''Sərhanł'') is a city in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Russia, located on the Ob River near its junction with the Irtysh River. It is one of the few cities in Russia to be lar ...
– Surgut International Airport
Surgut Airport , also listed as Surgut North Airport, is an airport in Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug, Russia located north of Surgut. It services medium-sized airliners. In 2018 Surgut Airport handled 1,758,310 passengers. In May 2019, the airp ...
:Belgorod
Belgorod ( rus, Белгород, p=ˈbʲeɫɡərət) is a city and the administrative center of Belgorod Oblast, Russia, located on the Seversky Donets River north of the border with Ukraine. Population: Demographics
The population of Be ...
- Belgorod International Airport
Belgorod International Airport (russian: Международный Аэропорт Белгород) is an airport in Russia located 4 km north of Belgorod. It services narrow-body airliners (such as the Tupolev Tu-154, Tupolev Tu-204, ...
:Novosibirsk
Novosibirsk (, also ; rus, Новосиби́рск, p=nəvəsʲɪˈbʲirsk, a=ru-Новосибирск.ogg) is the largest city and administrative centre of Novosibirsk Oblast and Siberian Federal District in Russia. As of the Russian Census ...
– Tolmachevo Airport
Novosibirsk Tolmachevo Airport (russian: Аэропо́рт Толмачёво) is situated in the town of Ob, west of the center of Novosibirsk, an industrial and scientific center in Siberia and Russia's third-largest city.
Overview
There ...
:Yekaterinburg
Yekaterinburg ( ; rus, Екатеринбург, p=jɪkətʲɪrʲɪnˈburk), alternatively romanized as Ekaterinburg and formerly known as Sverdlovsk ( rus, Свердло́вск, , svʲɪrˈdlofsk, 1924–1991), is a city and the administra ...
- Koltsovo Airport
Koltsovo International Airport (russian: Аэропорт Кольцово) is the international airport serving Yekaterinburg, Russia, located 16 km (10 mi) southeast of the city. Being the largest airport in Sverdlovsk Oblast, Kolts ...
Fleet
The Air Bishkek fleet consists of the following aircraft (as of August 2016):
Maintenance
* Kyrgyz Airways contracted Turkish Technic under a maintenance services agreement for its Boeing B737-300 for May 2010.
Frequent flyer program
In 2010 Air Bishkek became the first airline in Kyrgyzstan to introduce a frequent flyer program
A frequent-flyer program (American English) or frequent-flyer programme (British English) is a loyalty program offered by an airline.
Many airlines have frequent-flyer programs designed to encourage airline customers enrolled in the program ...
, which it named Belek Bonus, after the Kyrgyz word for 'gift'.
References
External links
*
Official website
{{Airlines of Kyrgyzstan
Defunct airlines of Kyrgyzstan
Airlines formerly banned in the European Union
Airlines established in 2004
2004 establishments in Kyrgyzstan
Airlines disestablished in 2016
2016 disestablishments in Asia