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Ding-Dong! The Dictator's Dead!

Last month we pointed you to Knife Tricks blogger Paul Karl Lukacs' report on Turkmenistan Airlines. The airline is/was subsidized by Turkmenbashi (Saparmurat Niyazov), Turkmenistan's nutjob dictator. As a result, most of its internal flights cost $10 or less for locals, and just $20 for foreigners, according to Lukacs.

Well, news just broke that Turkmenbashi bit the dust yesterday. What that means for travelers isn't entirely clear yet, but it could affect the cabin environments on Turkmenistan Airlines planes (which display framed photographs of Niyazov). The airport in Turkmenistan's capital of Ashgabat is named after him, as is most everything else in the country.

Air Koryo planes also carry pictures of their home country's leaders, though Kim Jong Il is no fan of flying. No word on how Turkmenbashi felt about aviation himself. Either way--good riddance, and here's to hoping Mugabe is next.

[Photo: dih123]

Related Stories:
· Turkmenistan's 'iron ruler' dies [BBC]
· Five Segments on Turkmenistan Airlines! [Knife Tricks]
· Turkmenistan: It's Not Kazakhstan [Jaunted]