A number of Russian and Turkish airlines, including Ural Airlines, Pegasus Airlines, and AtlasGlobal, have reportedly expressed interest in serving Karshi Khanabad in Uzbekistan following the government's decision to allow unlimited access to the airport regardless of other air traffic agreements, Anhor has reported.
The pilot project is aimed at boosting low-cost and regional traffic to Uzbekistan and may in the future be expanded to other airports in the country. Under the rules of the project, foreign airlines may launch services to Karshi regardless of the limits imposed by air traffic agreements between Uzbekistan and the carriers' respective home countries.
According to the ch-aviation capacity module, Karshi in southern Uzbekistan currently sees very limited traffic with 3x weekly flights to Moscow Domodedovo (operated by Ural Airlines and Uzbekistan Airways) and 1x weekly flights to the capital Tashkent International (by Uzbekistan Airways).
Under its plan to turn Uzbekistan into a connecting hub between Europe and Asia, the Uzbek government is also planning to introduce a 72-hour transit visa which would allow passengers to make a stopover in Tashkent.
