Uzbek media claim the first regular flight between Dushanbe and Tashkent has been canceled through Tajik airline’s fault.
According to them, Tajikistan’s privately owned air car carrier, Somon Air, has not submitted documents to the Uzbek civil aviation authorities in proper time.
Citing Uzbek civil aviation authorities, Uzbekistan’s Kun.uz news website reports that Somon Air has not fulfilled administrative formalities opportunely and has not sent appropriate documents to Tashkent. The website has not noted what exact documents Somon Air had to send to Tashkent.
The Uzbek civil aviation authorities have reportedly also denied reports released by some media yesterday that Tashkent is not ready and does not want to receive flights from Dushanbe as baseless.
According to Uzbek media, Somon Air has already apologized to Tashkent for spread of unreliable information.
Uzbekistan Airways, which should also operate flights on this route, will spread official information on this subject in the near future, Uzbek media reports say.
EaursiaNet.org reports that Uzbekistan’s state-run air carrier, Uzbekistan Airways, has blamed Somon Air for the impasse.
“Somon Air did not submit form “R,” which lists all the requisite conditions for completing an international flight. That is the main reason for this flight being cancelled,” a spokesperson for the airline told EurasiaNet.org on February 20.
The company promised a full explanation would be posted on its website by the end of the day, but that statement failed to materialize by the promised time.
BBC’s Russian Service has cited the Uzbek civil aviation authorities as saying that the flight cancellation was not politically motivated and was simply down to technical misunderstandings. Also, the countries have reportedly yet to sign an air transportation bilateral treaty.
Recall, a trial flight between Dushanbe, and Tashkent was carried out on January 10. A total of 56 people, including Somon Air representatives, journalists and regular passengers, flew on that occasion. The travelers were met with a great fanfare at Tashkent airport.
An estimated 26 passengers had been due to travel on the February 20 flight. Disappointed customers were reimbursed or given tickets for the flight from Dushanbe, to Khujand, the capital of the Tajik northern Sughd province. In the absence of a direct link to Tashkent, many people in Tajikistan traveling to Uzbekistan usually make their way to Khujand and then cross the border overland.
