Uzbekistan offers Tajikistan to open flights to Samarkand and Bukhara
By Kamila Aliyeva
The Uzbek national airline, Uzbekistan Airways, offered to open new flights which are set to link the cities of Samarkand and Bukhara with the capital of Tajikistan - Dushanbe, Tajik media outlets reported.
The proposal of the Uzbek side is being studied at the moment, and in the near future the Tajik side will take a decision on this issue, according to a source in the Tajik government.
The source expressed conviction that the decision of the Tajik side on this issue will be positive.
Flights between the two countries were terminated in the autumn of 1992, and in 2000, Uzbekistan introduced a visa regime for travel to Tajikistan.
The air traffic was interrupted with the beginning of civil war in Tajikistan, there were virtually no commercial, economic and political ties. The relations began to restore in 2016.
In autumn 2016, a protocol on cooperation was signed between the civil aviation authorities of Tajikistan and Uzbekistan in the air transport sector.
Uzbekistan Airlines performed the first flight en route Tashkent - Dushanbe - Tashkent on April 11.
The air company performs flights to the capital of Tajikistan on the A320 airliners once a week on Tuesdays.
Uzbekistan Airways was established on January 28, 1992 upon the presidential decree, wholly owned by the state.
The aircraft fleet of the Uzbek airline currently has 31 aircraft of western production, including thirteen Boeing passenger aircraft, thirteen airbuses (three A-310 and ten A-320-200), three medium-haul RJ-85s and two cargo planes Boeing-767-300BCF.
The Uzbek airline operates flights to over 20 cities in Europe, America, the Middle East, Asia, 22 cities of the CIS countries and 11 destinations on local airlines.
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Kamila Aliyeva is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Kami_Aliyeva
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