Buyant-Ukhaa International Airport


Buyant-Ukhaa International Airport (Буянт-Ухаа олон улсын нисэх буудал, is the international airport serving Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, situated southwest of the capital. It is the largest international air facility in the country.

History

Development

The airport was first established as Buyant-Ukhaa airport on 19 February 1957. In 1958, international flights began with flights to Irkutsk and Beijing using Ilyushin Il-14 aircraft. Regular flights from the airport started in 1961.
The terminal was upgraded to make it suitable for international traffic in 1986.
Between 1994 and 1997 a further major upgrade of construction and air navigation was achieved with the assistance of the Asian Development Bank, making the airport compliant with ICAO standards. The US$50 million construction project was carried out by the successful bidder: a German / English joint venture of Philipp Holzmann and Wimpey Asphalt.
The airport was named after Chinggis Khaan to celebrate the 800th anniversary of the establishment of a Mongolian State on 21 December 2005.

New airport

The airport is due for replacement in 2020 by the new New Ulaanbaatar International Airport. The current airport is somewhat restricted, the single runway is used in one direction for arriving aircraft and in the opposite direction for departures. The new airport, of which construction is finished, will significantly expand capacity, it is located at the Khoshigt Valley, south of Ulaanbaatar city centre.

Airlines and destinations

Statistics

Traffic figures

Top destinations

Other facilities

The airline Aero Mongolia has its head office on the third floor of the main airport building. The Air Accident Investigation Bureau Mongolia has its head office on the airport property. There is also one cargo hangar at Chinggis Khaan International Airport.