What it’s really like to fly from Uzbekistan’s busiest hub
Airport
Tashkent International Airport
Flight
FlyDubai flight FZ1946 departs from Tashkent to Dubai at 17.30.
arrival
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It all happens as our tour bus pulls into the busy drop-off area at Terminal 2 of Uzbekistan’s main airport, following our luxury train journey through four out of five Stans. Cars honk and a roadside vendor sells popcorn to passengers from what looks like a body bag carried by trolley. Fortunately, no human remains are seen.
Appearance
Apart from the new and slightly clinical-feeling first departure area, there’s nothing particularly striking about the design, which consists of floor-to-ceiling reflective glass windows, metallic columns, futuristic tube lighting and neon blue glowing escalators. Randomly, there is a capsule hotel behind a small seating area in the check-in hall. Renovation work is underway to expand the airport from 45,000 square meters to 65,000 square meters to accommodate the increase in foreign visitors, which will more than triple to nearly 10 million by 2024, evidence of the growing interest in this part of the world. The project for the construction of a new airport, which will start in 2028 and have a capacity to carry 20 million passengers, has been approved. It is expected to be an important center in Central Asia and aims to rival Istanbul and Doha.
Entrance
There is a mandatory security checkpoint and x-ray machine when we enter the building. The man in charge loses his mind about the scissors in my mother’s backpack, but after much hysteria he begins to understand that we have handed over the bag. Straight escalators then lead to the check-in hall but trams are not allowed. I get brief moments of comic relief as people wrestle their large bags up the hill. The check-in process is slow and FlyDubai staff are a bit standoffish when it comes to our turn at the table. I wonder if the Kuwait national football team behind us will face the same hostile reception?
Security
My passport is as fed up as I am. Waiting in line to go through manual immigration takes about 40 minutes, and once your passport is stamped, you have to clumsily push through a plastic door that looks designed to swing backwards and slam you into the back. My passport is checked twice more before reaching security. My shoes came off and I was completely felt up by a female staff member despite no apparent reason. There are large bins full of disposable plastic shoe covers for people who care about getting their socks dirty.
food + drink
When we get to the gates there are very limited options but the food is good. Milly Özbek serves authentic local dishes such as beef or chicken samsa (meat pastries) and kebab-style ground meat shashlik. But if you want a local beer, you can’t get it here. The lively Sky Bar next door serves alcohol, and half the airport has figured it out.
retail therapy
If you, like me, slept in a fluffy white papakha hat during your trip to Uzbekistan and regretted it, you can buy it from the souvenir shops here or buy traditional Uzbek clothes, ikat fabrics, expensive ceramics and halvah.
elapsed time
There is limited seating at the gates and I can’t get the free airport Wi-Fi to work, so keep a book or e-reader with me.
Decision
While not unbearable, this is one of those airports that only serves its purpose.
Our rating out of five
★★½
The author flew at his own expense and traveled with the help of Golden Eagle Luxury Trains. To see goldeneagleluxurytrains.com
Jenny Hewett is a Sydney-based freelance travel writer who has lived in Southeast Asia and the Middle East and loves nothing more than being surrounded by nature and wildlife.
