Anvar (second from right) at the Tourism Forum in Penang.
By V. Sivaji
Uzbekistan, also known as the “Pearl of the Silk Road” hopes to expand its air connectivity to more cities by the year 2027.
Its national carrier, Uzbekistan Airways, currently flying to 99 destinations, plans to connect 115 destinations by 2027.
Anvar Kadirov, Head of Sales Department, Uzbekistan Airways was in Penang during their tourism roadshow along with other officials to share their vision and mission with local tourism industry players recently.
Also present was Umid Shadiev, chairman of Tourism Committee of Uzbekistan and his team members.
Their fleet of planes presently are a total of 47 aircraft and this is expected to increase to 60 aircraft. Among the aircraft models they are flying are the A320, A321, Boeing 767 and the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
In line with the on-going expansion plans, they will also connect directly to Madrid, Urumqi and New Delhi this year too.
On the domestic level, their low cost airline Silkavia flies to 182 domestic destinations in a week. They fly a fleet of ATR-72-600 (5 units) and the Let L-410 Turbolet (3 units).
The Uzbekistan Airways is presently flying to countries in Asia, the Middle East and USA.
On the local front, Uzbekistan Airways is connecting Kuala Lumpur and Tashkent which takes around seven hours.
Other major cities in Uzbekistan are Tashkent, Fercana, Samarkand, Bukhara, Namangan to name a few.