A new airline is to launch direct services from Uzbekistan’s second-largest city of Samarkand, as part of a major tourism and commercial drive for the region.
Air Samarkand will operate scheduled and charter flights from Samarkand to a growing number of destinations before the end of 2023 – beginning with services to cities in Turkey, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and China.
Air Samarkand plans further expansion into Europe over the next 12 months as it grows its fleet of Airbus A330 and A320 aircraft. The full-service carrier expects to have five aircraft in operation before the end of 2023.
Air Samarkand
Bakhtiyor Fazylov, a Uzbek business leader and founder of Air Samarkand, said: “The launch of this new airline is a significant event for the future development of Uzbekistan as a tourism, cultural and business centre.
“We are delighted to welcome Air Samarkand’s first aircraft, which will soon operate competitive direct flights with a safe and quality service to the most popular international destinations.”
Located in eastern Uzbekistan, Samarkand is one of the oldest cities in Asia, with its origins said to date back to the seventh or eighth millennium BC. A prosperous centre of the silk trade and situated on the famed Silk Road, it is in the heart of the country’s ancient and medieval tourist attractions that exist in Samarkand and the surrounding Bukhara, Khiva, Shakhrisabz, and Zaamin National Park regions.
The launch of Air Samarkand coincides with the arrival of its first Airbus A330-300, which landed on 2 November at the newly redeveloped Samarkand International Airport.
Using a fleet of modern Airbus aircraft, Air Samarkand will provide the 12.6 million people in its local catchment area with the option of taking direct services to key cities in Asia and Europe. This will remove the current need to use time-wasting flight connections to Tashkent and other regional airports.
Image courtesy of Air Samarkand
