The term of Tajik Transport Ministry’s ultimatum to the Russian aviation authorities is expiring today.
An official source at the Ministry of Transport of Tajikistan says the Russian aviation authorities have invited their Tajik counterparts to Moscow for negotiations over the air travel problems. “Tajik delegation left for Moscow today,” the source noted.
Asked about the Tajik ministry’s threat to put ban on Russia’s Ural Airlines and UTair flights to Tajikistan starting from April 6, the source said: “Time will tell.””
“The Russian side has not yet replied to our letter over lifting ban on Somon Air flights to Russia and just invited us for negotiations,” the source added.
Tajikistan has warned that dispute between Dushanbe and Moscow over Somon Air’s flights to Moscow may lead to the suspension of Russian airlines’ flights to Tajikistan from Moscow.
The Tajik Ministry of Transport reportedly sent a notification to the Russian side on April 4 saying that it would suspend flights of Russia’s Ural Airlines and UTair to Dushanbe from Moscow from April 6 unless Russian aviation authorities lift ban on Somon Air’s flights to Moscow.
“We have given the Russian side three days and if they do not lift a ban on Somon Air’s flights to Moscow from Dushanbe and Khujand, we will ban these two Russian air carriers (Ural Airlines and UTair) from operating flights to Tajikistan,” a source at the Tajik Ministry of Transport told Asia-Plus Tuesday afternoon.
The Tajik Ministry of Transport is expected to duly respond by halting Ural Airlines’ four flights to Dushanbe and UTair’s three flights to Khujand.
Recall, the Russian Transport Ministry said on March 31 that as of April 3, Tajikistan’s privately owned air carrier, Somon Air, would no longer be permitted to conduct its four weekly flights from Dushanbe to Moscow and three weekly flights from the northern city of Khujand to Moscow.
The Russian ministry said the ban was a tit-for-tat response to Tajikistan’s refusal to allow Russia’s Yamal Airlines to fly to Dushanbe from the Zhukovsky Airport outside Moscow.
