Tajik national air carrier, Tajik Air, plans to resume domestic flights on the Dushanbe–Khorog-Dushanbe air route.
“On the instruction of the government we are working on restoring the air traffic between Dushanbe and Khorog, the capital of the Gorno Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO),” an official source at Tajik Air told Asia-Plus in an interview.
Recall, Tajik Air suspended flights on this air route in October last year because of technical rehabilitation of AN-28 airliner, which is used to operate flights from Dushanbe to Khorog.
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.
On July 8, 2015, a group of citizens released an open letter asking President Emomali Rahmon to assist in resolving the issue of streamlining Dushanbe– Khorog – Dushanbe flights.
The appeal, which was signed by more than 140 citizens, asked the president to promote regularity of flights, improve their quality and safety, as well as establish affordable air ticket prices based on the solvency of the population, as these people use the services provided by the airport in Dushanbe.
One notes, at present, Tajik Air flies en route Dushanbe-Khorog-Dushanbe on its AN-28 aircraft.
“According to the aviation authorities, this air transport meets all the requirements of the International Civil Aviation Organization and the International Air Transport Association. However, the actual flights on these aircraft are becoming more dangerous”, the statement said.
At the same time, 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.
