Air Samarkand: one year since the launch of commercial flights.

A year ago, the new Uzbek airline received its Operator Certificate, a unique code from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO): "UZS", along with the radio call sign "Samarkand", and conducted its first commercial charter flight from Samarkand to Istanbul.
On the anniversary day, the airline will operate two flights to Jeddah from Samarkand and one from Fergana, as well as flights from Tashkent to Medina and Phu Quoc Island.

“As we celebrate our first year of operations, we continue to expand and strengthen our network of regular and charter flights. In the next 12 months, we will offer our customers in the region even more choices, flexibility, and convenience, while also promoting tourism to Uzbekistan and our hometown of Samarkand,” said Zafar Butaev, CEO of Air Samarkand.

He also added: “Over the past year, we have come a long way thanks to the dedicated work and commitment of our entire team, who strive every day to ensure a high level of service. In the coming year, we will continue to grow by strengthening our team, expanding our fleet and route network, and adding destinations for both tourism and business travel.”

Marking a year since the start of flights, Air Samarkand also announced an increase in the number of flights to the popular resort of Phu Quoc in Vietnam to three times a week in partnership with the travel operator Crystal Bay Tourism. All flights depart from Tashkent International Airport at 23:55 and arrive in Phu Quoc at 10:50 local time. The flights are operated on a modern Airbus A330-300, which has 36 seats in comfort class and 277 seats in economy class.

Additionally, Air Samarkand has launched new flights on Thursdays and Saturdays from Tashkent to Medina (Saudi Arabia), the second holiest city in Islam after Mecca. Medina is home to the Al-Masjid an-Nabawi mosque, which houses the tomb of the Prophet Muhammad.

These flights complement the airline's existing routes to Jeddah, which Air Samarkand has been operating since July 2024 from Samarkand, Termez, Fergana, Bukhara, and Namangan.

Thus, pilgrims who wish to visit only Mecca choose flights to Jeddah, as the journey from this airport to Mecca is much shorter. However, those pilgrims who want to connect with all the sacred sites of Islam opt for flights to Medina.

The airline also operates direct flights from Samarkand to Istanbul (Turkey), to Sharm El Sheikh (Egypt) from Tashkent and Samarkand, and additionally – domestic flights between Samarkand and Tashkent on Fridays.