After a two-year break, Tajikistan has resumed air traffic with Iran and India, an official source with the Civil Aviation Agency under the Government of Tajikistan told Asia-Plus in an interview.
“After a two-year break caused by the coronavirus pandemic, Tajikistan has resumed regular flights on the following air routes: Dushanbe-New Delhi-Dushanbe; Dushanbe-Nursultan-Dushanbe; and Dushanbe-Tehran-Dushanbe,” the source said, noting that these flights will operate twice-weekly.
According to him, the Dushanbe-New-Delhi-Dushanbe flight was relaunched on April 9. Tajikistan’s privately owned air carrier Somon Air operates flights on this air route.
As far as Dushanbe-Teheran-Dushanbe flight is concerned, it will be operated by Iranian flag carrier Iran Air.
“If possible, Somon Air will also operate flights on this air route,” the source added.
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.
The National Airline of Iran, branded as Iran Air, is the flag carrier of Iran, which is headquartered at Mehrabad Airport in Tehran. As of 2018, it operates scheduled services to 71 destinations in Asia and Europe. Iran Air's main bases are Tehran International Airport and Mehrabad Airport, both situated in Tehran, the capital of Iran. Domestically, Iran Air is commonly known as Homa, which is the name of a mythical Persian griffin, and also the acronym of Iran National Airlines in the Persian language. The airline's cargo division, Iran Air Cargo, operates scheduled services internationally using one cargo aircraft.
