Tajikistan’s privately owned air carrier, Somon Air, is the first airlines in Tajikistan and the third airlines in the Central Asian region to join the International Air Transport Association (IATA)
IATA certificate is an essential help to Tajikistan, which successfully passed the ICAO audit in October 216, according to the Somon Air press center.
As the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Somon Air, Mr. Thomas W. Hallam II, noted, the membership in IATA has become a new milestone in the history of success of Somon Air and Tajikistan’s civil aviation as a whole.
“The membership in IATA will promote further strengthening of positions of the air company as regional and international carrier as well as will give an opportunity to use experience of leading international carries, introduction of new technologies and new types of service for passengers, improvement of standards of operational activity and simplification of procedures for the conclusion of agreements that finally means serious competitive advantages and reduction of costs,” Somon Air CEO noted.
The Somon Air press center notes that one of advantages of the membership in IATA is an opportunity to conclude interline and code-sharing agreements with leading international carriers.
The International Air Transport Association is a trade association of the world’s airlines. Consisting of 275 airlines, primarily major carriers, representing 119 countries, the IATA's member airlines account for carrying approximately 83% of total Available Seat Kilometers air traffic. IATA supports airline activity and helps formulate industry policy and standards. It is headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada with Executive Offices in Geneva, Switzerland.
Somon Air is the first private airline in Tajikistan with an office headquartered in Dushanbe. The airline operations are based at Dushanbe International Airport. The airline started operating on February 5, 2008 with regular flights to Moscow and Dubai.
Somon Air also serves as the official carrier of President of the Republic of Tajikistan and other Tajikistan high-ranking officials.
Since formation, Somon Air has been primarily focused on passenger service and transportation to Eastern Europe and other locations. Most flights to international destinations operate from Dushanbe.
The airline uses the Boeing 737 in its fleet. Somon Air now operates 2 Boeing 737-300s, 2 Boeing 737-800s and 2 Boeing 737-900ERs.
Somon Air now operates to the following destinations: Afghanistan (Kabul); China (Urumqi); Germany (Frankfurt am Main); Kazakhstan (Almaty); Pakistan (Lahore); Russia (Irkutsk, Khanty-Mansisysk, Kazan, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Moscow, Orenburg, St. Petersburg, Nizhnevartovsk, Tyumen and Yekaterinburg); Saudi Arabia (Jeddah); Tajikistan (Khujand); Turkey (Istanbul); Ukraine (Simferopol); and the United Arab Emirates (Dubai).
