DUSHANBE, March 27, 2013, Asia-Plus — A commission of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is expected to arrive in Tajikistan next month to conduct audit at the country’s civil aviation sector, an official source at the Civil Aviation Department of the Ministry of Transport (MoT) told Asia-Plus Wednesday afternoon.
According to him, the audit will be conducted in late April. The previous ICAO audit was reportedly conducted five years ago and it was successful for Tajikistan.
Meanwhile, Rashid Dadaboyev, the deputy head of the State Transportation Supervision and Regulatory Agency, notes that the risk that the ICAO will blacklist Tajikistan’s air carriers is quite a high.
The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations. It codifies the principles and techniques of international air navigation and fosters the planning and development of international air transport to ensure safe and orderly growth. Its headquarters are located in the Quartier International of Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
The ICAO Council adopts standards and recommended practices concerning air navigation, its infrastructure, flight inspection, prevention of unlawful interference, and facilitation of border-crossing procedures for international civil aviation. In addition, the ICAO defines the protocols for air accident investigation followed by transport safety authorities in countries signatory to the Convention on International Civil Aviation, commonly known as the Chicago Convention.
Currently, three air carriers operate in Tajikistan.
Tajik national air carrier, Tajik Air, started operations on September 3, 1924 as Tajik Aviation. Its first route was Bukhara to Dushanbe, served by Junkers F-13 aircraft. It is the sixth oldest airline still in operation. Tajik Air has its head office at Dushanbe International Airport in Dushanbe. The airline has its main hub at Dushanbe International Airport, and it retains a secondary focus point at Khujand International Airport.
Besides, there are two private air carries in Tajikistan — Somon Air and East Air.
Somon Air is an airline based in Dushanbe. It is Tajikistan”s first private airline, which launched services in 2008. 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. The airline operations are based at Dushanbe International Airport. The airline started operating on February 5, 2008 with regular flights to Moscow and Dubai. Somon Air also serves as the official carrier of President of the Republic of Tajikistan and other Tajikistan high-ranking officials. Since formation, Somon Air has been primarily focused on passenger service and transportation to Eastern Europe and other locations. Most flights to international destinations are operated from Dushanbe.
East Air is a charter airline based in Dushanbe. The airline provides charter services for airlines.
New start-up Asian Express Airline is expected to commence operations this year. The start-up recently took delivery of its first ex-Vietnam Airlines A320 aircraft in Nov-2012. The airline already has two BAe Avro RJ100s and one RJ85 aircraft, and plans to add more A320s and RJ100s. Asian Express was originally planning to launch operations in 2007. It has since been acquired by new investors who had planned to have the airline operational in summer 2012. In February 2012, Asian Express announced plans initially to operate domestically in Tajikistan before launching services to destinations in bordering countries. In the medium-term the airline plans to operate to Iran, the Middle East, Pakistan, Russia and Turkey.
CAPA (Center for Aviation) reported in January this year Tajik Air faces an uncertain future as Somon Air expands its share of the Tajikistan market and continues to outperform its government-owned rival (Somon Air now accounts for a leading 28% share of international capacity to and from Tajikistan). Tajik national carrier could see more pressure this year following the planned launch of Asian Express Airlines, which plans to initially serve the domestic market, CAPA said.
