DUSHANBE, September 3, 2009, Asia-Plus — Tajik civil aviation marks its 85th anniversary today. A ceremonial meeting on this occasion ws held in the head office of Tajik national carrier, TajikAir, today morning.
Tajik Air (Tajikistan Airlines) is the national airline of Tajikistan. It is based in Dushanbe Airport and is currently the largest air carrier in Tajikistan, serving international and domestic destinations.
The company started operations in September 3, 1924 as Tajik Aviation. Its first route was Bukhara to Dushanbe, served by Junkers F.13 aircraft. It is the seventh oldest airline still in operation.
In March 1937 the company was reorganized as the Tajik Territorial Civil Air Fleet Administration (TTCAFA). In 1945 it received Junkers Ju-52 and new Lisunov Li-2 aircraft, the first flight with the latter was operated on the Stalinabad (now Dushanbe) –Moscow route. In 1951, it added its first Antonov AN-2, and in 1952, an Ilyushin Il-12
joined the fleet and launched Stalinabad –Sochi services. Between 1956 and 1964 TTCAFA added the Mi-4 helicopter, Il-14, Il-18 and An-6, which was an advanced version of the An-2 capable of flying at a higher altitude. In 1956 an An-6 of TTCAFA piloted by B.M. Vorobyov landed on the frozen Lake Sarez for the first time.
The first jet aircraft joined the airline in the 1970s, these included Tupolev TU-154 and Yakovlev Yak-40, as well as An-26 and An-28. By 1988 TTCAFA was changed to Tajik Civil Aviation Administration (TCAA) incorporating new management and planning conditions. The new company received first honors in the USSR as far as efficient usage of the An-28 and Yak-40 was concerned. In 1990 and 1991 the fleet was expanded further with addition of new aircraft and helicopters.
After reorganization of the Ministry of Civil Aviation the State Air Company of the Republic of Tajikistan (SART) was founded
. On March 2, 1992 the Tajikistan aircraft crews began to fly under the emblem “Tojikiston” and in a short space of time they opened up the flights to the United Arab Emirates, Pakistan, Iran, India, Saudi Arabia, China, Turkey, Germany.
In an effort to improve the public management system, in 2004 the SART “Tojikiston” was reorganized into the State Unitary Aviation Enterprise (SUAE) “Tojikiston”. It is a commercial organization with its severalty and property being under its economic authority. On September 5, 2006, the Tajik government passed the resolution “On the State Unitary Aviation Enterprise “Tojikiston.” By the government’s resolution the SUAE “Tojikiston” was renamed “TajikAir” and a new charter was granted to it.
The airline carried only 320,000 passengers in the first nine months of 2006, a notable fall over 2005. To try to overcome the decline, the airline, with assistance from the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) undertook a technical study of Western type aircraft like Airbus-320 and Boeing 737 and two Boeings were inducted on lease replacing Soviet era aircraft.
This year, Tajik Air has been restructured and six separate enterprises have been established: the State Unitary Aviation Enterprise (SUAE) “TajikAir”; the State Unitary Enterprise “International Airport Dushanbe”; the State Unitary Enterprise “International Airport Khujand”; the State Unitary Enterprise “International Airport Kulob”; the State Unitary Enterprise “International Airport Qurghon Teppa”; and the State Unitary Enterprise “Tajikairnavigation”.
