Tajik Air

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Tajik Air
IATA ICAO Callsign
7J TJK TAJIKAIR
Commenced operations3 September 1924
HubsDushanbe International Airport
Focus citiesKhujand Airport
Fleet size3
Parent companyGovernment of Tajikistan
HeadquartersDushanbe, Tajikistan
Key peopleParviz Shodmonzoda,[1] Director General
Websitetajikair.tj

Tajik Air (legally State Unitary Aviation Enterprise (Tajik: Тоҷикӣ Эйр, romanizedTojikī Air and also known as Tajikistan Airlines) is an airline in Tajikistan. It has its head office at Dushanbe International Airport in Dushanbe.[2] The airline's main hub is Dushanbe International Airport.

History[edit]

The first flight of the airline was from Bukhara to Dushanbe on 3 September 1924 by a Junkers F.13 aircraft, initiating the development of civil aviation in Tajikistan. The first aircraft appeared in the capital two years earlier than the car and five years earlier than the train. The Stalinabad airfield complex was created and the operation of new routes started over the Pamir mountain ranges. In 1930, a first-class airport was built in Dushanbe. One year later airports were built in Kulyab, Garm, Panj, and Dangara where regular flights were operated from Dushanbe. Aviation of Tajikistan developed rapidly as the air fleet expanded. Air transport became an essential branch of the country's national economy. Tajik aviation provided regular connections between the capital and the highland settlements in the hard-to-reach valleys of Vanch, Rushan, Shugnan, Bartang, Yagnob, and others, reducing the travel time of passengers of the mountain regions of the Pamirs, Karategin, blooming valleys of Vakhsh, Hissar by tens or hundreds of times. In March 1937, the Tajik Territorial Department of Civil Air Fleet was formed.[citation needed]

In 1945, the Tajik Department of Civil Air Fleet (TU GVF) received new Lisunov Li-2 and Junkers Ju 52 aircraft. The first flight by the crew of the Li-2 aircraft was operated on the route Stalinabad – Moscow. In the 1950s and 1960s, aviation in Tajikistan was one of the most developed sectors of the national economy of the Republic. From 1951, Antonov An-2s were utilized in the fleet of the Tajik Department of Civil Air Fleet and in 1954 Ilyushin Il-12s were introduced, by which the first flight on the route Stalinabad – Sochi was operated. Between 1956 and 1964, Ilyushin Il-14, Ilyushin Il-18 and Antonov An-6 (high-altitude version of the An-2) aircraft joined the fleet, as well as Mil Mi-4 helicopters.

Tajik Air Tupolev Tu-154

Aviators of Tajikistan were always in the front line of development of the socio-economic potential of the country. For the first time in 1959, B.M. Vorobiev landed an aircraft (an An-6) on the ice of the Sarez Lake. In 1960, the first flight on the route Stalinabad – Moscow was operated by an Ilyushin Il-18. The TU GVF's structure was expanded and developed.

In 1959, the Leninabad aviation enterprise was founded and, in a year, the Kulyab airport was established. On March 3, 1960, the passenger terminal and runway were put into operation. The route Stalinabad – Frunze – Alma-Ata – Novosibirsk was opened. In the 1970s and '80s pilots and navigators of the Tajikistan Civil Aviation Authority mastered such aircraft as the Tupolev Tu-154, Yakovlev Yak-40, Antonov An-26 and Antonov An-28. In 1979 the first flight to Afghanistan was operated by an Il-18 aircraft on a humanitarian mission. In 1984 the automatic reservation system "Sirena" for booking seats on the domestic airlines was introduced. In 4 years, the Tajik Civil Aviation Authority changed over to the new conditions of management and planning.

Judging by the efficiency of the Yak-40 and An-28 aircraft utilization, the Tajik Civil Aviation Authority won first place in the USSR's Air Fleet. In the 1990 -1991 period, the aircraft-helicopter fleet of the aviation enterprise was expanded with Ilyushin Il-76 and Tupolev Tu-154M aircraft; and Mil Mi-8 helicopters. Central Asia's first "Zardak" transponder was built and air service on the route Dushanbe-Ürümqi was opened.[3]

On 14 January 2019, Tajik Air suspended all operations[4] until it restarted on November 2019.[5] However, Tajik Air suspended operations again on 14 September 2020 due to technical and financial difficulties.[6] It has since been looking to restart again.[7]

Destinations[edit]

Tajik Air serves the following destinations as of November 2020:

Country City Airport Notes Refs
 Azerbaijan Baku Heydar Aliyev International Airport Terminated
 India Delhi Indira Gandhi International Airport Suspended [8]
 Iran Tehran Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport Terminated
 Kazakhstan Almaty Almaty International Airport Terminated
 Kyrgyzstan Bishkek Manas International Airport Terminated
 Russia Moscow Moscow Domodedovo Airport Suspended
Novosibirsk Tolmachevo Airport Terminated
Saint Petersburg Pulkovo Airport Terminated
Surgut Surgut International Airport Terminated
Yekaterinburg Koltsovo International Airport Terminated
 Tajikistan Dushanbe Dushanbe International Airport Hub
Khorugh Khorog Airport Terminated
Khujand Khujand Airport Terminated
Bokhtar Bokhtar International Airport Terminated
 Ukraine Kyiv Boryspil International Airport Terminated
 United Arab Emirates Sharjah Sharjah International Airport Terminated

Fleet[edit]

Current fleet[edit]

As of February 2023, the Fleet of Tajik Air consisted of the following aircraft:[9][10]

Tajik Air former Boeing 757-200
Tajik Air former Boeing 737-300
Tajik Air fleet
Aircraft In
service
Orders Passengers Notes
Antonov An-28 2 17
Mil Mi-8 1 24
Total 3

Former fleet[edit]

Tajik Air had in the past operated a variety of aircraft:[9]

Accidents and incidents[edit]

  • On August 28, 1993, a Yakovlev Yak-40 crashed on take-off in Khorugh while on a flight to Dushanbe. All 5 crew members and 77 of the 81 passengers died. The aircraft was configured to carry 28 passengers but was severely overloaded. The crew had been forced to take off by armed men.[12]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Emomali Rahmon dismisses high-ranking officials in Tajikistan". centralasia.news. 2022-10-01.
  2. ^ "Directory: World Airlines." Flight International. 30 March-5 April 2004. 78. "Titov Street 31/2, Dushanbe International Airport, Dushanbe, 734006, Tajikistan."
  3. ^ "TajikAir.TJ – Таджикские Авиалинии – ТАРИФЫ". 2012-02-18. Archived from the original on February 18, 2012. Retrieved 2016-05-21.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link)
  4. ^ aerotelegraph.com - "Tajik Air: World's eight-oldest airline ceases operations" (German) 16 January 2019
  5. ^ "Tajik Air resumes flight operations" 27 July 2019
  6. ^ "Tajik Air Airline Profile". Centreforaviation.com.
  7. ^ Asia-Plus (February 1, 2023). "Tajik national air carrier expected to resume flights". Asiaplustj.info.
  8. ^ "Tajik Air resumes its flights to India's New Delhi, Somon Air to fly there from December 1st – C.A.A.N". caan.asia. 27 November 2019. Retrieved 28 November 2019.
  9. ^ a b planespotters.net - Tajik Air retrieved 16 January 2019
  10. ^ "Авиакомпания Таджик Эйр: купить авиабилеты на самолет онлайн, бронирование билетов, продажа электронных билетов на самолет, цены, авиабилеты Душанбе Москва Душанбе от 188 евро, расписание и покупка на официальном сайте".
  11. ^ "Accident description". Aviation Safety Network. 19930617-0. Retrieved September 5, 2009.
  12. ^ "ASN Aircraft accident Yakovlev 40 87995 Khorog". aviation-safety.net. Retrieved 2015-12-03.
  13. ^ "Aircraft accident Tupolev Tu-154B-1 EY-85281". Aviation Safety Network. Retrieved 2020-11-25.
  14. ^ "One survivor of air crash, 85 are victims". The Bryan Times. 1997-12-16. Retrieved 2020-11-25.

External links[edit]

Media related to Tajik Air at Wikimedia Commons