Tajikistan’s privately owned air company Somon Air and Saudi air travel agency Kayan Travel Group have signed a memorandum of understanding to develop Dushanbe-Jeddah service and attract passengers from Saudi Arabia to Tajikistan.
Somon Air Director-General Abdulqosim Valiyev on April 11 held a meeting with a delegation of Kayan Travel Group (Saudi Arabia) led by the Group CEO Turki Al Sailani.
The meeting reportedly resulted in signing of a MoU on establishment of the mutually beneficial cooperation in the field of air carriage of both passengers and cargo.
According to the terms of the Memorandum, Somon Air intends to develop Dushanbe-Jeddah service and Kayan Travel Group will attract passengers from Saudi Arabia to Tajikistan for tourism, business, educational, medial and other purposes.
Recall, Somon Air announces the launch of regular flights from Dushanbe to Jeddah starting from March 9.
The airline reportedly operates twice-weekly service from Dushanbe to Jeddah on Tuesdays and Fridays.
Jeddah is a city in the Hejaz region of western Saudi Arabia and the country's commercial center. Jeddah is the principal gateway to Mecca, the holiest city in Islam, 65 kilometers to the east, while Medina, the second-holiest city, is 360 kilometers to the north. Economically, Jeddah is focusing on further developing capital investment in scientific and engineering leadership within Saudi Arabia, and the Middle East.
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.
Somon Air is a member of the International Air Transport Association (IATA). Somon Air's fleet consists of Boeing 737-800 and 737-900 family aircraft. The company is focused on expanding the route network of air transportation and the fleet, and currently operates regular flights from Tajikistan to Germany, the United Arab Emirates, Turkiye, China, India, Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.