DUSHANBE, October 23, Asia-Plus — Tajik State Air Company TajikAir has summed up the results of work carried out in the first three quarters of the year.
A source at Tajik national air carrier said that during a board meeting that was held at the end of the last week it was noted that under the national program for 2006 the Tajik state air company was supposed to ship 3,900 tons of cargoes and carry 440,000 passengers this year.
However, over the past nine months, TajikAir aircraft have carried 202,208 passengers, passengers, which is 38 percent of the overall international transportations; air companies of the countries have carried 330,397 passengers over the same nine-month period. As far as cargo shipments are concerned, TajikAir has reached only 86.2 percent of the report period’s target.
The TajikAir officials consider that the main reason for reduction in the volume of cargoes shipped by the company and decreasing number of passengers carried by it over the report period is the rising competition on the international air routes.
Since the beginning of the year, uneconomic domestic flights have caused losses totaling more than US$338,000, the source said. The most unprofitable air routes are from Dushanbe to Khujand and Khorog, according to the company managers. According to TajikAir, the main reason for these routs being unprofitable is fares determined by the country’s antimonopoly commission. “The fixed rates do not cover cost prices of flights on these routes,” the source said.
In January-September 2006, 109,100 passengers have been carried by TajikAir inside the republic, which 8,400 passengers fewer compared to the same period of last year. Over the past nine months, the company has transferred to the country’s budget 27.8 million somonis (equivalent to 8.20 million US dollars) and today it does not have any debts to the national budget.
During the meeting it was also noted that two TU-154Bs have outlived their service life this year and therefore the company has failed to provide TU-154Ms to its branch in northern Tajikistan that has caused stopping of flights from Khujand to Moscow.
The source also noted that since August of this year, the Qurghon Teppa airport has received Yakovlev-42 of CentrAsia air company conducting flights from Moscow to Qurghon Teppa. As a whole, at present 23 air companies of the far abroad states, Russia and Central Asia operate flights to Tajikistan.
