Air Belgium operates its first cargo flight to Ashgabat

On 1 August 2026, Belgian cargo carrier Air Belgium operated its first flight into Ashgabat International Airport, the airport reported. According to the report, the first flight is intended to support the development of trade, economic and logistics cooperation between Turkmenistan and Belgium.

Air Belgium is a Belgian operator specializing in cargo transport; following the carrier's bankruptcy, its freight operations are run by France's CMA CGM, one of the world's leading shipping groups. Its fleet includes the Boeing 747-8F and Airbus A330-243F.

It is worth noting that this is a first flight, not yet an established scheduled program. Even so, it is the second Belgian cargo operator to reach Ashgabat within a month: in late July, Challenge Airlines — a separate carrier also based in Liège, Belgium — began operating flights via Ashgabat on the Ningbo–Ashgabat and Ashgabat–Liège routings.

Ashgabat is being positioned as a full-service logistics hub with refueling and technical support. Turkmenistan's airports already serve aircraft from Cargolux, MNG Airlines, Mongolian Airlines and others. For the logistics sector, a new Europe–Asia transit corridor is forming that bypasses more congested traditional gateways.