Kyrgyzstan has started building its third international airport in Jalal-Abad, its third biggest city.

As reported by The Times of Central Asia, the 380ha airport will have a two-storey, 10,000-sq-m terminal and a 3,800m-long runway.

The new facility is separate from the current Jalal-Abad Airport, a domestic airport which opened in 1938 and was expanded in 1972.

The EU blacklisted all of Kyrgyzstan’s airlines in 2006 over insufficient safety. The country has since hired a consultant to reform the sector, and earlier this week sent a delegation to Brussels to make the case for its reinstatement.

Sadyr Japarov, Kyrgyzstan’s president, said: “Since 2021, Kyrgyzstan has increased passenger traffic by 46% and the number of flights by 31%. New aircraft have been acquired, and previously idle regional airports have resumed operations.”

A new entity, Asman Airlines, was founded in 2023 for domestic flights.

Work began on a new terminal at Kyrgyzstan’s Osh International Airport in February 2025.