Dushanbe intends to suspend Ural Airlines flights to Tajikistan.
Yusuf Rahmonov, the head of the Civil Aviation Department at the Ministry of Transport of Tajikistan, who is currently in Moscow for negotiations with the Russian civil aviation authorities, on December 23 told Asia-Plus on the phone that Tajikistan has decided to suspend Ural Airlines flights to Tajikistan. “Suspension includes flights of the airline to Tajikistan from four Russian cities, except Moscow and St. Petersburg,” Rahmonov said, adding that it was a retaliatory measure in response to Moscow’s decision to suspend flights of Tajik private air carrier, Somon Air, to Russian regions.
Ural Airlines’ office in Dushanbe has confirmed this information, noting that they were unofficially informed that some flights of their airline to Tajikistan are suspended starting from Friday afternoon.
Recall, citing an official source at the Russia Ministry of Transport, Russian media outlets reported that starting from 00:00 am on December 23 Moscow suspended flights of Tajik private air carrier, Somon Air, to the Russian regions.
According to the Russian Ministry of Transport, it includes flights of the airline to all Russian cities, except Moscow and St. Petersburg.
“Tajikistan, in violation of the agreement on air communication between the countries, as well as the protocol from November 7, 2016, has not given permission to Russia’s Yamal airline for flights on from Zhukovsky airport,” an official representative of the Russian Ministry of Transport was quoted as saying by TASS. He added ban on Somon Air flights to Russian regions was a retaliatory measure.
RIA Novosti reports that Tajikistan has allowed Yamal Airlines to operate just one charter flight from Zhukovsky airport to Dushanbe yesterday morning to take out about 100 passengers who were stranded in Zhukovsky airport for two days.
As it had been reported earlier, Russia announced it would suspend flights to Tajikistan, and then agreed to resume them within hours on December 21 as a dispute between Moscow and Dushanbe over air service between the countries was settled.
Tajikistan’s civil aviation authorities on December 21 just an hour before midnight agreed to temporarily allow flights by Russia’s Yamal Airlines to airports in Dushanbe and Khujand from Zhukovsky International Airport.
Tajik authorities have questioned the legitimacy of the Yamal flights, but agreed to continue talks on the matter after Russia lifted its threat to stop all flights to Tajikistan.
Tajik authorities said allowing the Yamal flights would break the parity of Russia and Tajikistan in the number of airlines allowed flying between Moscow and Tajikistan.
But Yamal Airlines top managers say that Tajikistan's refusal to allow their airline flights from Zhukovsky is illegal.
“To operate regular flights to Tajikistan, Yamal Airlines needs to get official permission from Tajikistan’s civil aviation authorities. “Yamal Airlines will not be given the permission within the next two months,” a source at Tajikistan’s Ministry of Transport (MoT) told Asia-Plus on December 22.
A statement released by the Tajik civil aviation authorities on December 22, in particular, notes that “since the Tajik side has not yet appointed the second air carrier on this route and for the purpose of observing the parity of Tajikistan and Russia in the number of airlines flying between Tajikistan and Moscow, it appears impossible to give operating permit to Yamal Airlines for 2016-2017 winter season.”
For the first time the two countries faced the threat of suspension of flights in early November because of a dispute between Moscow and Dushanbe over the status of Russia’s Zhukovsky International Airport, which was officially opened in May 2016.
Dushanbe called for a revision of existing bilateral agreements on mutual air flights, saying that Zhukovsky is Moscow’s fourth international airport and that it has increased the number of flights from Moscow to Tajikistan.
Meanwhile, Russian civil aviation authorities insisted that Zhukovsky International Airport is not under Moscow’s authority but of the town of Ramenskoye.
Russia's Transport Ministry said on November 3 that it would suspend flights to Tajikistan from November 8 unless Tajik aviation authorities change their position on the Zhukovsky airport near Moscow.
Following the talks that took place in Moscow on November 7, Tajik and Russian civil aviation authorities agreed to maintain and develop air traffic, and in particular reached an agreement on flights to Tajikistan from Zhukovsky International Airport near Moscow.
