Uzbekistan Air Cargo Notes | 31 June 2025
- Nadira Islamova
- Jul 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’re reporting on Kazakhstan’s plans to launch a national cargo airline in 2026, strong passenger growth at Uzbekistan’s airports and more.
Air Cargo Trends
Kazakhstan is set to launch a new national cargo airline in 2026
Kazakhstan’s new national cargo airline will begin operations with 3 leased freighters, aiming to expand the fleet to 10 aircraft in early 2026
The project led by Kazakhstan’s national welfare fund Samruk-Kazyna seeks to strengthen Kazakhstan’s role as a key transit hub in Central Asia, where 15% of global air cargo already passes through its airspace in the first half of 2025
Uzbekistan airports see strong passenger growth
Uzbekistan’s airports handled 7.06 million passengers, with international traffic up 13.7% and domestic traffic steady at 1.25 million, showing a 10.9% overall increase in passenger volume in the first half of 2025
A total of 59,960 flights were operated, with the number of airlines rising from 45 to 60 including 12 seasonal charters and 7 local carriers
Kazakhstan sees surge in domestic flights
Domestic flights in Kazakhstan reached 849 per week, surpassing international flights of 842, as the number of domestic routes grew from 53 to 61 in the first half of 2025
Kazakh airlines served 7.2 million passengers, up 6.1% year-on-year, while airport infrastructure continues to expand with new projects and US$2.9 billion in planned investments
Samarkand airport reports steady passenger growth
Samarkand International Airport served 708,000 passengers up 9.4% year-on-year with 678,000 of them flying internationally and only 29,690 on domestic routes in the first half of 2025
Aircraft movements rose by 4.9% to 5,577 as the airport added new international routes and resumed several suspended services
Air Astana and China Southern are set to launch codeshare partnership
Kazakhstan’s Air Astana and China Southern Airlines signed a codeshare agreement to expand connectivity between key cities in both countries
The partnership aims to boost trade, tourism and Belt and Road connectivity, with shared routes linking Almaty and Astana in Kazakhstan to Beijing, Guangzhou, Urumqi and Xi’an in China
Other News
Sri Lanka opens port access to Uzbekistan
During diplomatic talks in Colombo, Sri Lanka officially proposed granting Uzbekistan access to its port infrastructure to facilitate the transit of Uzbek exports to international markets
Both sides discussed organizing business forums, trade delegations and intergovernmental commissions, while Sri Lanka confirmed its readiness to ensure smooth transit and explore cooperation in tourism, investment, education and agriculture
Iran to restore rail links with Turkmenistan and Tajikistan
Iran is preparing to launch new railway routes to Merv in Turkmenistan and Dushanbe in Tajikistan as part of a broader strategy to modernize national transport infrastructure and enhance regional cooperation
Two additional international routes ex Tehran to Ankara in Turkey and ex Tehran to Herat in Afghanistan are set to open within the next two months, supporting both passenger and cargo transport as part of larger trade and tourism initiatives
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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