DUHANBE, October 3, 2012, Asia-Plus — Alisher Rustamov has been relieved of his post of director general of Tajikistan’s private airline, Somon Air. He had served as director general of Somon Air over the past two years.
Mahmadyusuf Shodiyev, a spokesman for Dushanbe International Airport, says Alisher Rustamov has been appointed deputy director of Dushanbe International Airport.
Meanwhile, according to unconfirmed information, Somon Air owners intend to invite a specialist from abroad for the post of airline director general. Some sources say that it cannot be ruled out that British specialist, who headed Air Astana (Kazakhstan), will be invited to head Somon Air. He reportedly visited Tajikistan several months ago and got acquainted with the Somon Air activity.
Air Astana is the principal airline and the flag carrier of Kazakhstan. It is a joint venture between Kazakhstan’s sovereign wealth fund Samruk-Kazyna (51%), and BAE Systems PLC (49%). It was incorporated in October 2001 and started commercial flights on May 15, 2002. At January 2012 Air Astana employed 3512 people, mostly in Kazakhstan, though it directly employs people at most of its overseas stations. It employs 320 pilots, about a third of whom are non-Kazakhstan nationals recruited principally in Europe. Its management is a combination of Kazakhstan and foreign nationals.
Representatives of Somon Air refrained from commenting on appointment of new director general.
Somon Air is an airline based in Dushanbe. It is Tajikistan”s first private airline. Somon Air is also the first airline in Tajikistan to launch an online booking system.
The airline uses the Boeing 737 in its fleet. Somon Air operates the following types as of August 2012: two Boeing 737-300s; two Boeing 737-800s; and two Boeing 7373-900ERs.
Since its formation, Somon Air has mainly aimed its passenger service at Eastern Europe and other locations. Most flights to international locations operate from Dushanbe. In line with its strategic policy, Somon Air is gradually expanding the geographical coverage of its flights. At present, the company operates a total of eighteen routes. Somon Air now operates to the following destinations: China (Urumqi); Germany (Frankfurt am Main); Kazakhstan (Almaty); Russia (Irkutsk, Khanty-Mansisysk, Kazan, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Moscow, Orenburg, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Nizhnevartovsk, Novosibirsk, Tuymen and Yekaterinburg); Saudi Arabia (Jeddah); Tajikistan (Khujand); Turkey (Istanbul); Ukraine (Simferopol, Kyiv); and the United Arab Emirates (Dubai).
