Tajik national carrier, Tajik Air, is currently operating flights from Dushanbe to Khujand, the capital of the northern Sughd province, out of schedule.
“Our company is currently operating flights from Dushanbe to Khujand not in accordance with schedule but of production necessity,” Aziz Khairulloyev, a spokesman for Tajik Air, told Asia-Plus Thursday afternoon.
According to him, it is connected with the technical modernization carried out by the national air carrier. “We are reviewing the schedule and program of flights on domestic air routes in connection with the technical modernization,” Khairulloyev noted.
Meanwhile, Tajik private air company, Somon Air, operates flights from Dushanbe to Khujand strictly in accordance with schedule.
Recall, Tajik Air plans to resume domestic flights on the Dushanbe–Khorog-Dushanbe air route in the near future.
Tajik Air reportedly suspended flights on this air route last month because of technical rehabilitation of AN-28 airliner, which is used to operate flights from Dushanbe to Khorog, the capital of the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO).
Currently, Tajik Air uses its only one AN-28 airliner to operate flights from Dushanbe to Khorog.
It is to be noted that the Dushanbe-Khorog flight goes only in perfect weather and the plane only flies when there are enough passengers that day. This is generally not a problem since AN-28 has only 17 seats.
In a report released at a news conference in Dushanbe, Faizullo Sattorov Deputy Director General, Tajik Air, on July 23, 2015 called the Dushanbe-Khorog flight as one of the most difficult ones in the world and emphasized that, despite the difficulties, the flight is unprofitable for Tajik Air. Mr. Sattorov assured that except for AN-28, they cannot use any other airliners for this destination.
Tajik Air now operates its regular flights to the following cities in Russia: Moscow, Saint Petersburg, Yekaterinburg, Novosibirsk and Surgut; also, it flies to Kyrgyzstan (Bishkek), Kazakhstan (Almaty), Iran (Tehran), China (Beijing, Urumqi), and India (New Delhi).
From the Khujand International Airport, regular flights are operated to Moscow, St. Petersburg, Novosibirsk, Yekaterinburg and Surgut.
As regards domestic destinations, the Air Company flies from the capital city of Dushanbe to Khujand.
Currently, the Tajik Air’s air fleet has 36 aircraft, 12 of which are operated on flights including two Boeing 757-200s, two Boeing 737-400s, one Boeing 737-300, one MA-60, one AN-28, one AN-26 and three Mi-8 MTV helicopters. The remaining 24 aircraft, mainly of the USSR production, are on long-term storage.
The Tajik Air management is currently considering potential upgrade of its air fleet with aircraft of modern Western technology.
