DUSHANBE, January 21, 2013, Asia-Plus  -- The structure of Tajik national air carrier, Tajik Air, will be completely changed in the near future, Tajik Air director general announced at a news conference in Dushanbe on January 21.

According to him, the company’s staff is expected to be reduced by 30 percent.  “The company will be restructured but this will not hit the engineering staff and air crews,” Hamroyev noted.

“720 now work for Tajik Air.  The structure will be reviewed completely and it will be adjusted to the key assets – the company’s fleet includes 36 aircraft but only 12 of them are currently being operated,” Tajik Air director-general said.

Tajik Air started operations on September 3, 1924 as Tajik Aviation.  Its first route was Bukhara to Dushanbe, served by Junkers F-13 aircraft.  It is the sixth oldest airline still in operation.

Tajik Air has its head office at Dushanbe International Airport in Dushanbe. The airline has its main hub at Dushanbe International Airport, and it retains a secondary focus point at Khujand''s Khujand International Airport.

The company now serves the following destinations: China (Urumqi); Iran (Tehran, Mashhad); Kazakhstan (Almaty); Kyrgyzstan (Bishkek); Russia (Irkutsk, Moscow, Novosibirsk, St Petersburg, Samara, Sochi, Surgut, and Yekaterinburg); and Tajikistan (Khorog and Khujand).