Following internal examination of the situation that led to the breakdown of the first regular flight between Dushanbe and Tashkent, the Somon Air sales manager Alisher Rustamov and other persons responsible for the breakdown of the flight have been fired and Somon Air has offered official apologies to Uzbek partners.
An official statement released by Somon Air on February 21, in particular, says that the examination of the situation revealed that the package of documents has been sent to the Uzbek side untimely.
“All persons responsible for the situation, including the Somon Air sales manager Alisher Rustamov, have been fired,” the statement says.
Currently, representatives of Somon Air and Uzbekistan Airways are reportedly solving technical issues and the first regular flight between Dushanbe and Tashkent is expected to be operated within the next few days.
Uzbek national carrier, Uzbekistan Airways, has blamed Somon Air for cancellation of the long-awaited regular flight between Dushanbe and Tashkent.
Somon Air is the first private airline in Tajikistan with office headquartered in Dushanbe. The airline operations are based at the Dushanbe International Airport. The airline started operating on February 5, 2008 with regular flights to Moscow and Dubai.
Somon Air also serves as the official carrier of President of the Republic of Tajikistan and other Tajikistan high-ranking officials.
Since its foundation Somon Air has been primarily focused on passenger service and transportation to Eastern Europe and other locations. Most flights to international destinations operate from Dushanbe.
The airline uses the Boeing 737 in its fleet. Somon Air now operates 2 Boeing 737-300s, 2 Boeing 737-800s and 2 Boeing 737-900ERs.
Somon Air now operates to the following destinations: Afghanistan (Kabul); China (Urumqi); Germany (Frankfurt am Main); Kazakhstan (Almaty); Pakistan (Lahore); Russia (Irkutsk, Khanty-Mansisysk, Kazan, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Moscow, Orenburg, St. Petersburg, Nizhnevartovsk, Tuymen and Yekaterinburg); Saudi Arabia (Jeddah); Tajikistan (Khujand); Turkey (Istanbul); Ukraine (Simferopol); and the United Arab Emirates (Dubai). (News.tj/Business World Magazine)