DUSHANBE, April 22, 2016, Asia-Plus – Tajik and Afghan civil aviation authorities have discussed the issue of increasing the number of flights between Dushanbe and Kabul, according to the Ministry of Transport (MoT).

An official source at a MoT says the plan to increase the number of flights to ten per week.  According to him, the sides have signed a memorandum of cooperation under which each of the specified air carriers of the two countries will be able to operate up to five flights a week between Dushanbe and Kabul.

Tajik air company, Somon Air, will operate the first flight between Dushanbe and Kabul on April 29 this year, the source noted.

We will recall that Tajik private airline, Somon Air, said on April 15 it will operate a once-weekly service from Dushanbe to Kabul (Afghanistan) on Mondays and a twice-weekly service from Dushanbe to Lahore (Pakistan) on Mondays and Fridays.

Besides, Somon Air plans to operate flight routes from Dushanbe to the Iranian capital, Tehran, this year.

Somon Air is the first private airline in Tajikistan with an office headquartered in Dushanbe.  The airline operations are based at 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 formation, 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: China (Urumqi); Germany (Frankfurt am Main); Kazakhstan (Almaty); Russia (Irkuts, Khanty-Mansisysk, Kazan, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Moscow, Orenburg, St. Petersburg, Sochi, Nizhnevartovsk, Novosibirsk, Tuymen and Yekaterinburg); Saudi Arabia (Jeddah); Tajikistan (Khujand); Turkey (Istanbul); Ukraine (Simferopol); and the United Arab Emirates (Dubai).