CEO of Uzbekistan Airports Rano Juraeva unveiled some details about the new local airline Silk Avia. She underscored that at the first stage, three 70-seater aircraft are expected to be delivered. It is planned to launch about 40 routes across Uzbekistan - not only from the capital to the provinces, but also between provinces.
During the panel discussion “Horizons for Attracting Investments in the Tourism Sector”, Rano Juraeva, speaking about the development of domestic tourism, unveiled that the creation of a provincial airline Silk Avia has begun.
According to provisional data, it is planned to launch about 40 routes across Uzbekistan - not only from the capital to the provinces, but also between provinces.
“There are no provincial air services here and they need to be developed. We just want to open about 40 routes now. In particular, this will affect the development of domestic tourism. I noticed that even to tourist destinations such as Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva, people have to travel by train, bus or taxi, because either there are no tickets or they are expensive. I looked at the statistics on domestic routes - in 2021 we served about a million passengers. Of course, the demand is huge. People have difficulty moving around the country. Therefore, we are in a hurry and hope that by the fall we will have delivered the planes and operated the first flights,” said Rano Juraeva.
In her opinion, 70-seaters are just perfect for provinces. Rano Juraeva also added that the provincial airline will be based at the new Samarkand airport.
