Postwar development
Since 1946 in air-lines of the USSR and Turkmenistan (as the republic entering then in the structure of the USSR) the new Soviet airplanes Il-12, Il-14, An-2, Як-12 started to be used . In September 1956, the first regular flights were made by the first-born jet civil aircraft – passenger airplane Tu-104, and then on republic airlines there were planes Tu-114, Il-18, An-24. The powerful airliners have allowed to connect Turkmenistan by air-lines with the largest administrative and cultural centers of the USSR, capitals of union republics, resorts and other cities. From the beginning of 50th years, in the national economy of the republic there were widely applied helicopters. The aircraft is used in agriculture at processing of gardens and vineyards and defoliation of cotton. By the end of 60th years the civil aviation in Turkmenistan gets the crucial importance in transportation of passengers to a long distance as passengers' capacity and load-carrying capacity of airplane fleet have increased, commercial speed of air transport has sharply increased. Having become the mass type of transport, the civil air fleet provides high rates of growth of transportations. If the volumes of transportations of passengers by railway transportation in the republic during the period from 1961 to 1981 has increased approximately in 2.1 times, automobile – in 3.4 times, the volumes of air has increased in 3.6 times. In 1981, the airplanes of civil aviation of Turkmenistan have processed 1.36 million hectares of seeding of agricultural crops (against 0.2 million hectares in 1960), their flying time on service of needs of national economy has made more than 314 thousand hours (against 36 thousand hours in 1960). In 1981 the total extent of air lines of union importance has reached 24.1 thousand kilometers, and lines of republican value – 3,35 thousand kilometers. The civil aviation of the Turkmen Soviet Socialist Republic had the newest airplanes Tu-154, Yak-40, Yak-42, An-24, An-26, the modern radio engineering and radar-tracking equipment allowing to accept airplanes at any time and under adverse meteorological conditions. Because of equipping of the airports with new means of radio navigation the frequency and regularity of flights have raised. There have been constructed the new and reconstructed air terminals in Chardzhou, Tashauz, Cheleken, Bekdash, Nebit-Dag.