OJSC National Air Company Uzbekistan Airways, operating as Uzbekistan Airways (Uzbek: ЎзбекиÑтон Ҳаво Йўллари, Ozbekiston Havo Yo llari; Russian:УзбекÑкие Ðвиалинии), is the national airline of Uzbekistan, headquartered in Tashkent. From its hub in Tashkent International Airport, the airline serves a number of domestic destinations; the company also flies international services to Asia, Europe and North America.
History
Following the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Uzbek President Islam Karimov in 1992 authorized the creation of Uzbekistan Airways. The carrier was established on 28 January 1992,[3] and took over the operations of the Uzbekistan division of Aeroflot on 31 May 1992.[4] The airlines maiden flight was from Tashkent to London.
Domestic flights used Russian-built aircraft that formerly belonged to Aeroflot. When international routes became top priority, Airbus planes were leased, starting in 1993.
Uzbekistan Airways Technics provides technical services for Il-76, Il-62, An-2 and Yak-42 aircraft, and aircraft engines Ðn-25, Тa-6Ð and Тa-8, also A, B, C, D and IL checks on the Boeing 767, Boeing 757, Airbus 310, Airbus 320 and RJ-85.
At April 2000, the airline had 16,296 employees. At this time, the fleet comprised three Airbus A310-300s, three Antonov An-12s, one Antonov An-24, 18 Antonov An-24Bs, three Antonov An-24RVs, three Boeing 757-200s, two Boeing 767-300ERs, three BAE Systems Avro RJ85s, four Ilyushin Il-114s, two Ilyushin Il-62s, six Ilyushin Il-62Ms, ten Ilyushin Il-76Ts, nine Ilyushin Il-86s, 15 Tupolev Tu-154Bs, two Tupolev Tu-154Ms and 19 Yakovlev Yak-40s. Destinations served at the time included Almaty,Amsterdam, Andizhan, Ashgabat, Athens, Baku, Bangkok, Beijing, Bishkek, Bukhara, Chelyabinsk, Delhi, Dhaka, Ekaterinburg, Fergana, Frankfurt, Istanbul, Jeddah, Karshi, Kazan, Khabarovsk, Kuala Lumpur,London, Mineralnye Vody, Moscow, Namangan, New York, Novosibirsk, Nukus, Omsk, Paris, Riyadh, Rostov, Samara, Samarkand, Seoul, Sharjah, Simferopol, St. Petersburg, Tashkent, Tel Aviv, Termez, Tyumen,Ufa, and Urgench.[3]
Uzbekistan Airways carried 2,625 million passengers in 2014, a 1.9% decrease year-on-year (YOY), whereas cargo handled experienced a 4.6% increase YOY.[1]
Destinations
Since its formation, Uzbekistan Airways has mainly aimed its passenger service at Western Europe and other international locations. Most flights to international locations operate from Tashkent, although regional international services do exist.
The carrier is not part of any partnerships or alliances, but negotiations are under way to join SkyTeam, according to reports from the Uzbek government;[5] however, no official announcement has been made so far either by the airline or the alliance.
