Uzbekistan Air Cargo Notes | 29 May 2025
- Nadira Islamova
- May 31
- 3 min read
Welcome to this week's edition of Uzbekistan Air Cargo Notes, the first and only newsletter focusing on the latest news and insights into the dynamic air cargo market of Uzbekistan and Central Asia. This week, we are reporting on Kazakhstan opening direct flights to Serbia, Turkmenistan’s fifth international airport starting operations and more.
Air Cargo Trends
My Freighter expands to North America through new partnership
Uzbekistan’s My Freighter signed an interline agreement with Icelandair Cargo unlocking access to major North American cities including New York Washington Orlando Minneapolis and Toronto
The airline has signed interline agreements with Aeromexico, American Airlines, Challenge Group, and Air Europa and plans to expand its fleet to 20 freighters by 2026
Kazakhstan is set to open direct flights to Serbia
Kazakhstan's Ministry of Transport confirmed plans to open direct passenger flights ex Astana, Kazakhstan to Belgrade, Serbia VV by the end of 2025
Kazakhstan's SCAT Airlines and Serbia's Air Serbia participated in negotiations and discussed potential interline, SPA, and codeshare partnerships
Air Samarkand expands its network to Georgia and Azerbaijan
Uzbekistan’s private startup airline Air Samarkand launched charter and scheduled flights ex Tashkent and Samarkand in Uzbekistan to Tbilisi, Batumi in Georgia and Baku in Azerbaijan starting in May and June 2025
The airline will operate flights up to three times a week using Airbus A321ceo, A321neo, and A330-300 aircraft
Tez Jet expands its fleet with new aircraft
Kyrgyzstan's Bishkek-based airline Tez Jet received the last-ever produced McDonnell Douglas MD-83 aircraft from the US on 23 May 2025
The airline now operates two MD-83s and two Avro RJ85 jets on domestic routes and international service to Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Qanot Sharq expands its route network to China
Qanot Sharq launched direct passenger flights from Tashkent, Uzbekistan to Guangzhou, China on 19 May 2025 and plans to start services to Shanghai, China from 3 July 2025
The airline currently operates Airbus A321neo aircraft and plans to receive three A321XLRs and two A321LRs equipments in 2026–2027 to support longer routes
Tashkent Air to launch direct passenger flights to Russia
New Uzbek passenger airline Tashkent Air to operate direct passenger flights from Tashkent, Bukhara, Samarkand, and Termez in Uzbekistan to Moscow, St. Petersburg, and Vladivostok in Russia on 2 June 2025
The airline will operate direct passenger flights using its sole Airbus A330-200 aircraft on these routes
Turkmenistan’s fifth international airport started its operations
Balkanabat International Airport officially opened and began flight operations, temporarily replacing Turkmenbashi Airport during its renovation on 19 May 2025
The airport includes passenger and cargo terminals, 3,200-meter runway, and serves domestic flights by Turkmenistan Airlines and international flights by Belarusian carrier Belavia
Alpha Sky expands its services with VIP charters
Private airline from Kazakhstan Alpha Sky completed its first flight on the Boeing Business Jet 737-700 from Sharjah to Dubai, UAE as part of commissioning its VIP charter service on 23 May 2025
The aircraft is designed to accommodate 22 passengers and offers luxury amenities including a lounge, office space, conference room, private bedroom, two bathrooms, and a kitchen
Other News
Rail freight growth between Kazakhstan and China
Rail freight between Kazakhstan and China rose by 13% to 11.4 million tons with shipments via Dostyk and Altynkol in Kazakhstan
Rail volume grew by 48% over five years to 32 million tons as Kazakhstan expands rail infrastructure and boosts Trans-Caspian transit through Xi’an terminal in China
Tashkent to relocate freight stations outside the city
Tashkent's freight stations are planned for relocation beyond the city limits, this initiative was announced at the meeting on railway development led by Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev on 28 May 2025
New railway infrastructure is being developed, including a planned Ozodlik-Gulistan bypass line which is expected to double cargo transit capacity without entering Tashkent
More:
Thank you for reading! We'll get back to you next Thursday with another edition of Uzbekistan Air Cargo Notes. If you missed a newsletter, check out the other editions of our newsletter.
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