All Tajik Air flights have been removed from the timetable of Dushanbe Airport (DYU), and the airline’s press department has distributed two releases in January, the first of which, dated January 4, reveals that until the end of the current IATA winter schedule in March, privately-run Somon Air will take over those passengers who hold tickets for Tajik Air’s flights to Russia, the CIS country’s key market.
Founded in 1924, Tajik Air was among the oldest active airlines in the world.
The second press release, dated January 10, revealed that the airline’s staff face an unpaid furlough, although Aziz Khairulloyev, the airline’s press secretary, also expressed hope that the situation would change, and that the airline might resume operations on its existing routes.
Tajik Air’s fleet consisted of three active jet aircraft : a 32-year-old Boeing 767-300 as well as a Boeing 737-300 and a Boeing 757-200 (EY-751), both 27 years old. The airline served domestic routes with Antonov An-28 aircraft, and it is not yet clear how the flight connections to these regional destinations will be restored, as Somon Air currently operates only six Boeing 737 aircraft.
