In what's become an almost daily scene at the super-modern, sumptuous Ashgabat International Airport, dozens of ticketed passengers with visas in hand are being told without explanation that they cannot board their planes, often bound for Istanbul or Dubai.
With estimated unemployment of around 50 percent, skyrocketing inflation, and shortages of consumer items including staples like bread, flour, eggs, and other dairy products, some people are leaving the country in search of better lives.
Most of those being prevented from boarding their planes are from Turkmenistan’s desolate outer regions, such as Dashoguz and Lebap, where economic conditions are most severe.
Although Turkey has been a frequent destination for Turkmen migrants, obstacles to getting there in recent months have led many people to opt for Azerbaijan instead. Still others are going to neighboring Uzbekistan or Kazakhstan in search of work but also as a way of getting around the flight ban that many Turkmen nationals face in traveling to Turkey.
Economic struggles would put pressure on government. It is likely that these bans will not end shortly. Unless government starts acting seriously on economy, there would be great unrest pending for Turkmenistan.
