The high prices for air tickets in our country and the long-awaited warming of relations with neighboring Uzbekistan leads to a logical result - our citizens increasingly fly abroad not from Dushanbe, but from Tashkent. To whom is it profitable?

Alternative - Bishkek and Tashkent

Many Tajiks have already got used to fly to Russia and other countries from Bishkek or Osh, it is much cheaper than to fly there from Tajik airports.

According to air ticket sales agencies, the price for the cheapest ticket from Bishkek to Moscow, for example, on September 24 this year is 187 dollars. The cheapest ticket from Dushanbe to Moscow on this date we found at a price of 266 dollars.

 Such a difference in the cost of tickets can be seen in other areas from the capitals of our two countries. So, on September 24 the cheapest tickets on the Bishkek-Istanbul route cost $ 247, Bishkek-Dubai - $ 220, Bishkek-Beijing - $ 362, and Bishkek - New York (with one change) - $ 717.

For comparison: the cheapest tickets for the same date on the route Dushanbe-Istanbul cost $ 292, Dushanbe-Dubai $ 268, Dushanbe-Beijing $ 412, Dushanbe-New York (with one change) - $ 1,408!

 Feel the difference

Our domestic airlines – “Tajik Air” and “Somon Air” - have already begun to lose their passengers. And with the development of ties between Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, Tashkent airport has become a very attractive transit point for our citizens.

The difference between the cost of air tickets in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan is less than in the case of Kyrgyzstan, but it is. And for a person with a small income even a small difference in price matters.

Ticket booking sites today offer flights from Tashkent to Moscow for $ 45 cheaper than from Dushanbe. 42 dollars - the difference in the cost of tickets to Dubai, to Beijing - $ 86, and to New York with transfers - as much $ 476 (the difference between the cheapest tickets for September 24).     

Will we join the EEU?..

How to solve this problem? The high cost of air tickets in Tajikistan is justified by the high cost of aviation fuel in Tajikistan. Currently, airlines flying from Tajik airports, buy fuel at a price of 1 thousand 465 dollars for each ton. This is almost twice as expensive as at airports in neighboring countries. At the same time 40% of the cost of the air ticket is formed from the cost of aviation fuel.

In JSC "Fueling Company", which owns the exclusive right to supply aviation fuel to Tajik airports and to refuel aircraft, say that the aviation fuel market is under the constant control of the Antimonopoly Service under the Government of the Republic of Tajikistan, which calculates all costs of the company and sets the real cost of fuel. The antimonopoly authority, in turn, argues that the price of aviation fuel in Tajikistan is established fairly, noting, first of all, a significant impact on fuel pricing, the remoteness of Tajikistan from the exporting countries.

Comparing the Tajik and Kyrgyz aviation fuel suppliers, the agency emphasizes that, given that this republic is a member of the Eurasian Economic Union, every ton of imported aviation kerosene costs about $ 100 cheaper.

 In addition, the antimonopoly agency notes that the value added tax in Kyrgyzstan is 12%, and in Tajikistan - 18.

- Also, the Tajik aviation fuel supplier, in contrast to Kyrgyz, pays excise. All these factors directly affect the cost of fuel in Tajikistan, - conclude in the Antimonopoly Service.