Air Samarkand Receives Air Operator Certificate (AOC)

Carrier readies services from country's second city

SAMARKAND, Uzbekistan, Dec. 28, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Air Samarkand has moved nearer to the launch of charter flights and scheduled services after receiving its Air Operator Certificate (AOC) from the Uzbekistan Ministry of Transport's Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).

The announcement confirms the airline's compliance with requirements of the country's aviation legislation and with international standards and requirements for flight safety under the Chicago Convention on International Civil Aviation. It follows a thorough audit of the airline's technical documentation, equipment and aircraft systems, preparation for flights, as well as the qualifications of flight and ground personnel by inspectors of the Uzbekistan Ministry of Transport.

Anton Khojayan, CEO of Air Samarkand, said:

"We thank the Ministry for Transport and the UzAviation Agency for their thorough assessment of our preparation for flights. Air Samarkand is now a further step nearer to the commencement of services from this incredible, historic city of Samarkand. Everything is now ready for this."

The airline has also officially received its own 'UZS' code from the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), as well as the radio call sign 'Samarkand'.

Mr Khojayan said: "Over the past 12 months we have been carefully developing our business strategy, while concurrently recruiting an experienced airline leadership group and a talented flight and cabin crew team to deliver an exceptional in-flight service to our customers. We have an ambitious plan for the rapid development of Air Samarkand, providing our passengers with safe, direct and high-quality services to a growing number of cities in Asia and Europe as we ramp up operations."

Air Samarkand will initially begin operations with charter flights from Uzbekistan's second-largest city, before launching scheduled services in the Spring to popular destinations including Turkey, points in south-east Asia, China and others. Further expansion will connect Samarkand with popular cities in Europe during the first 12 months of operations.

The planned full-service carrier has already begun to grow an impressive fleet of modern, safe and fuel-efficient Airbus aircraft. Last month, Air Samarkand received its first Airbus A330-300 long-haul wide-bodied aircraft and an A321 narrow-body airliner for short and medium-haul operations.

Notes to Editors                                                                                                             

Founded by Uzbek business leader Bakhtiyor Fazilov, Air Samarkand is part of a major tourism and commercial drive for the historic city of Samarkand. It will use a fleet of modern, safe and fuel-efficient Airbus aircraft, operating from the newly redeveloped Samarkand International Airport that is part of a large-scale investment project combining ancient heritage with modern infrastructure and facilities in the Samarkand region. Alongside the new airport facilities, a significant investment has gone into a multi-faceted Silk Road Samarkand tourist complex in the city – the first international tourism resort in Central Asia embracing four and five-star hotels.

Located in eastern Uzbekistan, Samarkand is one of the oldest cities in Asia, with its origins said to date back to the seventh or eighth millennium BC. Situated on the famed Silk Road, Samarkand is in the heart of the country's ancient and medieval tourist attractions, along with Bukhara, Khiva, Shakhrisabz, and the Zaamin National Park.

Air Samarkand will provide the 12.6 million people in its local catchment area with the option of taking direct charter flights and scheduled services to key cities in Asia and Europe, removing the current need to use time-wasting flight connections in Tashkent and other regional airports. Its network will begin with services to cities in Turkey, Vietnam, Malaysia, Indonesia and China.

Air Samarkand CEO Anton Khojayan, 37, has been heading a project team on the launch of Air Samarkand. Khojayan graduated from the Tashkent Institute of Architecture and Construction in 2009 and joined Uzbekistan Airways' Department of Ground Facilities and Airport Management, quickly rising through the ranks to head the division just three years later. In 2019 he became Deputy Chairman of the Board for Capital Construction and Technical Development of Uzbekistan Airports, a position he held for three years until he moved to lead Air Samarkand.

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SOURCE Air Samarkand, Uzbekistan