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Tashkent – The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced that it is establishing a permanent presence in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, opening a new office and preparing for the launch of a Billing and Settlement Plan (BSP) in the country before the end of the year.

Uzbekistan is a growing market that is taking a leading position in Central Asia for passenger and cargo traffic. The IATA office and BSP in Uzbekistan will provide strategic support to grow air travel through boosting aviation safety and operational efficiency. With the opening of our office, IATA experts will be more available to assist airlines and airports to implement global standards in safety and operations,

said Rafael Schvartzman, IATA’s Regional Vice President for Europe.

Importantly, the BSP will give access to airlines to cost-effectively process financial transactions globally while enabling global product distribution. This provides greater opportunity to grow international connectivity. Aviation in Uzbekistan currently generates some 0.9% of national GDP and creates more than 128,000 jobs. With the right government policies in place, there is scope for this contribution to grow substantially. IATA looks forward to being a proactive support in building this future,

said Schvartzman.

Strategic Development

Uzbekistan is looking to leverage its location in Central Asia to become a key regional hub, offering air connectivity to its neighbors and also links to Asia, the Caucasus, and Europe. IATA’s projected revenue passenger kilometer growth for Uzbekistan over 2024-2050 is 3.3%, slightly higher than the global growth rate of 3.1%. For this potential to be realized several key elements are critical:

• Alignment with global standards and best practices: Central to this is the adoption of the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) which will enhance confidence in the safety of airlines in Uzbekistan.
• Infrastructure development: New airports being constructed in Tashkent, Bukhara, and Urgench will provide much-needed new capacity to support growing passenger numbers and cargo volumes. However, it is important that these airports are constructed cost effectively and in consultation with airlines so that the airports operate to user needs and are not burdened with excessive charges.
• Clean energy transition: Refining Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) to international standards will support aviation’s development, energy security, and the potential for developing an export business. Uzbekistan has tremendous potential to capitalize on its Gas-to-Liquids experience with a focus on renewable or low-carbon gases to ensure environmental integrity and international acceptance.

About IATA’s BSP

 

The BSP is a worldwide system designed to facilitate and simplify financial transactions between IATA-accredited passenger sales agents and BSP airlines. The BSP tracks and manages sales of air tickets and the financial transactions associated with them across hundreds of airlines and tens of thousands of agents, globally. Access to a BSP offers airlines a significant advantage to manage sales with financial confidence and grow connectivity. 

Value of Aviation in Uzbekistan

 

• 12,400 people are directly employed in aviation, generating USD 96.5 million in economic output, equal to 0.1% of total GDP. Additional benefits are generated by the wider supply chain, employee spending, and tourism activities, contributing a total of USD 795.5 million, or 0.9%, to GDP and supporting 128,000 jobs.
• Tourism directly supported by aviation contributes USD 282.9 million to the country’s GDP, while international tourists to Uzbekistan are estimated to contribute USD 2 billion annually to the wider economy through the purchase of goods and services from local businesses.
• 66,600 tonnes of air cargo were transported through airports in Uzbekistan in 2023. With the opening of a dedicated cargo terminal at Tashkent Airport and continued growth at Navoi’s dedicated cargo airport, further growth in cargo volumes is expected.

The AIR MARAKANDA company announced Spring Spotting Tour at Samarkand International airport and started to accept applications for it 📸✈️

Professional plane spotters, photographs, videographs and all aviation geeks and amateurs are kindly invited to see the airport inside from an unique side and memorize bright moments of the aviation life.

Participant are to visit special locations of the airport, make exclusive photos of aircrafts and spend time diving to a true aviation atmosphere.

Please kindly fill the form for a participation request.

❗️Participant's amount is limited.

⏳ The application period is till April 30 incl.

On 18th April 2026 official spring spotting-tour took place at Tashkent International Airport. Around 70 planespotters not only from Uzbekistan🇺🇿, but also Belarus🇧🇾, Russia🇷🇺, Kazakhstan🇰🇿, Türkiye🇹🇷 and Australia🇦🇺 participated in the event. Throughout the day they were able to admire and photograph various passenger and cargo airplanes of multiple Uzbek airlines as well as flights of FlyDubai, Loong Air, Kam Air, Tez Jet, Air Astana, S7 Airlines, Turkish Airlines. Visitors managed to spend time at two locations and look at work of different airport services, especially interesting one being the fire service, who were very friendly to us. At all times experienced planespotters were helping newcomers and everyone was happy to meet their old friends and make new ones.

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We thank Uzbekistan Airports for organizing another spotting-tour and feel excited about the future events.

Il-76TD (3C-TM07) – battered ex-Uzbekistan Airlines (UK-76793) – said final goodbye to Tashkent after 20 years in storage.

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Brake overheating during test taxi required firefighter cooling.

Took off for Jordan, then to Africa, where such aircraft live bright but die fast too in endless conflicts.

Uzbekistan Airports is accepting applications for a professional spotting tour at Tashkent International Airport. The preliminary date is April 18, 2026.

Any interested aircraft spotter can apply for participation by sending a form to the e-mail address pr@uzairports.com and attaching a scanned copy of their passport. The application period ends on March 19 at 18:00.

When selecting applications, preference is given to candidates:

• with professional photo and video equipment;
• running their own thematic website/blog/social media accounts on aviation topics.
• having publications on professional spotting resources (www.jetphotos.com, www.airliners.net, www.planespotters.net, etc.).

If your application for participation is confirmed, you will receive a response letter before March 24, 2026. The number of participants is limited.

Our members were kindly invited to visit the Easy to Fly Academy, so we can't miss that opportunity and we were came today to see on our own how is a modern process of a crew and aviation specialists training organized.

The main specialization of the Academy is basic training of a cabin crew members, type rating for Airbus A320/321 as long as cabin crew leveling up and certification. The training is performing in Russian, Uzbek and English, the duration of the course is 60 days, participants gets a certificate after an exam's which allows them to work at any Uzbekistan🇺🇿 aviation company! Requirements to candidates are:

• Age: 18+
• Secondary education
• Know English, Russian, Uzbek
• Have a medical certificate

The basic cabin crew course costs 18 millions Sum and includes:

• Theory and practice under experienced specialists,
• Rescue and first aid trainings,
• Practical usage of life west, oxygen and safety equipment, galleys,
• ditching,
• etc

The Academy has certification according to Uzbekistan's requirements and rules.

The Academy also proposes private pilot training course. The cost is about 18000USD + airport's taxes, the duration is 7 months. The training includes complete theoretical course, simulator sessions and practical flying on Cessna 172 aircraft(35 flying hours)

More information available on the Academy's web page - easytofly.uz

Dear friends!

We kindly invite you to the opening of the annual exhibition held by the photographers section of the Uzbekistan's Academy of Arts.

The grand opening ceremony is scheduled for February 11 at 17:00 at the Tashkent House of Photography.

Remarkable that four our members are participating in the exhibition - Daniyar Atadjanov, Rustam Mannanov, Arslan Islamov and Roman Valiev.

📍Tashkent House of Photography.

📅 The exhibition is opened daily except Monday from 10:00 till 17:00. Entrance is free.

Singapore – February 3, 2026 – Embraer today announced at the Singapore Airshow that the Republic of Uzbekistan is the customer of an order for the C-390 Millennium transport aircraft previously announced as undisclosed.

The Uzbek Air Force will primarily use the C-390 in transport and humanitarian missions, significantly improving its capabilities. The Republic of Uzbekistan becomes the first Central Asia nation to operate the aircraft that is revolutionizing the military transport market segment.

We officially welcome the Republic of Uzbekistan to the group of C-390 operators as the Uzbekistan Air Force modernizes its transport capabilities, said Bosco da Costa Junior, President and CEO of Embraer Defense & Security. We are honored by the choice of this leading Central Asia Air Force and will work in close coordination with them to ensure flawless operation of this revolutionary aircraft.

Built and designed in the 21st century, the C-390 Millennium is the most modern military transport aircraft in its class and can carry more payload (26 tons) compared to other medium-sized military transport aircraft, flying faster (470 knots) and farther. It can perform a wide range of missions including cargo and troop transport, equipment and personnel airdrop, medical evacuation, search and rescue, firefighting, and humanitarian operations. It can also operate from temporary or unpaved runways. The aircraft configured with quick-installation air-to-air refueling equipment under the designation KC-390 can operate both as a tanker and as a receiver. The Millennium is fully interoperable within the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) environment and especially suitable for Agile Combat Employment (ACE) operations.

Already selected by air forces in Brazil, Portugal, Hungary, the Republic of Korea, the Netherlands, Austria, the Czech Republic, Sweden, the Republic of Uzbekistan, Slovakia and Lithuania, the C-390 Millennium offers unmatched capability, reliability, versatility and performance to serve tactical and strategic needs of air forces worldwide.

On 25 January 2026 SuperJet SJ-100NEW-95 with PD-8 engines visited Tashkent International Airport for the first time. Aircraft with tail number 97024 was flying from Moscow (Zhukovsky) to Hyderabad (Begumpet) and made a technical stop in Tashkent for refueling. After arriving in India the new aircraft has been presented on the Wings India 2026 airshow.

Obviously, members of Uzbekistan Spotters Team didn't miss the opportunity to catch an unique aircraft in the snowy weather on it's way to the Show and during sunny day of February 1 on aircraft's way back.

Today, on 14th of January we celebrate one of the most important and honorable days in our country - the Motherland Defenders Day as well as the 34th anniversary of the Armed Forces of independent Uzbekistan!

This day is the symbol of bravery, honor and selfless love to the Motherland. Defenders of the Fatherland are the foundation of the country, guarantee of the peace, stability and calm life of our nation. Thanks to your hard work, strict discipline and professionalism Uzbekistan's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity are being reliably guarded.

This day is the symbol of bravery, honor and selfless love to the Motherland. Defenders of the Fatherland are the foundation of the country, guarantee of the peace, stability and calm life of our nation. Thanks to your hard work, strict discipline and professionalism Uzbekistan's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity are being reliably guarded.

With all our hearts we wish you good health, peace, well-being, boundless fortitude, certainty and new achievements during your service to our Motherland. Let happiness, agreement and calmness fill your homes and let the sky over our heads always be bright and peaceful!

Congratulations! 🇺🇿🎉🫡