Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- At the initiative of the Ministry of Transport of Uzbekistan, Uzbekistan Airports JSC is creating a regional subsidiary airline Silk Avia. The new air carrier plans to start flights next year, Uzbekistan Airports said in a statement.

Silk Avia airline was registered in September this year, and within the framework of the Dubai Airshow-2021, which took place from 14 to 18 November in Dubai, Uzbekistan Airports and HAS Aviation GT LLC signed an agreement on the development of a Strategy for the creation of a regional airline.

The creation of a regional airline is important for stimulating business activity in Uzbekistan and creating conditions for the development of domestic tourism, which, in turn, will affect the increase in the coefficient of aviation mobility of the population, which shows the average number of flights per inhabitant of the country.

“We have set a goal to create an airline on the market that will provide domestic air transportation for Uzbeks at affordable prices. Until recently, the lack of direct flights connecting the cities of Uzbekistan was a big problem. To get from Samarkand to Khorezm, passengers had to fly through Tashkent. Our task is to organize internal transportation not only according to the point to hub principle (from the capital to the regions), but also according to the point to point model (between regions). The plans include the development of up to 40 routes and the purchase of regional aircraft with a passenger capacity of up to 70 people. The tariffs will be comparable to those of the railroad. This will have a beneficial effect on the development of domestic tourism, and on the final cost of air tickets for the consumer,” said Rano Juraeva, Chairman of the Board of Uzbekistan Airports JSC.

The new airline is also needed for the development of regional airports. Therefore, at the first stage, it is created by the management company Uzbekistan Airports. In the future, the airline is planned to be transferred to the private sector. It is important to note that Silk Avia does not position itself as a competitor to the national air carrier Uzbekistan Airways, but acts as a partner in organizing domestic transportation.