DUSHANBE, July 22, 2013, Asia-Plus — Tajik national air carrier, Tajik Air, has completed the first half year of 2013 without profit but it has managed to partially repay its debts, Firouz Hamroyev, Director General of Tajik Air announced at a news conference in Dushanbe on July 22.
According to him, the company reduced its total debt from 242 million somoni to 41 million somoni in a year to July 1, 2013.
“To repay our debt we have decided to take a preferential loan in one of local banks,” said Hamroyev. “Over the first six months of this year, the deficit of our budget has amounted to 1.4 million somoni, 27.6 million somoni fewer than in the same period last year.”
Currently, Tajik Air owes 27 million somoni to Dushanbe International Airport, 7.8 million somoni to Fuel Supply Company, 2.7 million somoni to Khujand International Airport, 1.5 million somoni to Tajikaeronavigatsiya (air navigation), and 1.6 million somoni to Aircraft Catering Company.
“Tajik national air carrier now also owes 24 million somoni to Tojiksughurta (Tajik state insurance company),” Tajik Air director general said.
“We will probably apply to the Government with request to restructure or write off some of our debts,” Hamroyev added.
Tajik Air (Tajikistan Airlines) is the national airline of Tajikistan. The airline has its main hub at the Dushanbe airport, and it retains a secondary focus point at the Khujand airport.
The company 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.
Until 2008, Tajik Air had an absolute monopoly in Tajikistan’s air transport, owning all planes, airports, and airport and flight services. As a result of restructuring, Tajik Air was split up into several separate companies.
The Tajik Air fleet now serves the following destinations: China (Urumqi); Iran (Tehran, Mashhad); Kazakhstan (Almaty); Kyrgyzstan (Bishkek); Russia (Irkutsk, Moscow, Novosibirsk, St Petersburg, Sochi, Surgut, and Yekaterinburg); Tajikistan (Khorog and Khujand); and United Arab Emirates (Sharjah).
The company has been forced to temporarily suspend flights from Dushanbe to Samara and from Khujand to Yekaterinburg. Besides, Tajik Air has also been forced to reduce the frequency of flights from Dushanbe to Khujand as well as to Baku, Sochi, St. Petersburg, Yekaterinburg and Tehran.
