Russian authorities have reportedly put ban on Somon Air’s flights to Moscow from the Tajik northern city of Khujand.

Tajikistan’s privately owned air carrier, Somon Air, says it has received telephone message from the Russian Ministry of Transport on introduction of restrictions on Somon-Air’s flights to Moscow beginning on April 3.

Until April 3, Somon Air had operated a seventh-weekly service to Moscow from Dushanbe and a third-weekly service to Moscow from Khujand.

“Now, in accordance with the notification of the Russian Ministry of Transport, Somon Air is prohibited from operating flights to Moscow from Dushanbe on Mondays, Wednesday, Fridays and Sundays, while all flights to Moscow from Khujand are suspended,” Somon Air said.

Somon Air hopes that the issue would be solved soon.  

Recall, The Russian Transport Ministry’s website says Russian authorities have imposed restriction on flights of Somon Air from Dushanbe and Khujand to Russia. The restrictions reportedly came into force at 5:30 of April 3. 

A statement released by the Russian Transport Ministry says that “contrary to earlier agreements the aviation authorities of Tajikistan have not approved the application of Russia’s Yamal Airlines for flights to Dushanbe and Khujand from Zhukovsky Airport.”

“Meanwhile, the Russian side has approved Tajik air carriers’ applications fully until 2 April 2017 in the hope that the Tajik side will approve Yamal Airline’s application in this time.” 

“On March 31, the Tajik side was notified of introduction of retaliatory “mirror” measures from 5:30 UTC of April 3: introduction of restrictions on Somon Air’s flights to Russia from Dushanbe,” the statement said.   

The Russian Minister of Transport Maxim Sokolov told reporters in Arkhangelsk (Russia) on March 30 on the sidelines of the International Arctic Forum that the Ministry of Transport of Russian will take all necessary measures to make the Tajik authorities coordinate flights to Dushanbe from Zhukovsky Airport.

He noted that the sides could conduct additional negotiations over flights from Zhukovsky Airport.  

“Either negotiations or appropriate inductive measures,” the Russian minister said.    

Last month, the Tajik civil aviation authorities proposed Russia’s Yamal Airlines to operate flights out of Zhukovsky Airport to the Tajik southern city of Kulob instead of Dushanbe but Yamal Airlines rejected the proposal to serve Kulob.  

As it had been reported earlier, Dushanbe in December banned Yamal Airlines flights to Tajikistan out of Zhukovsky Airport and Moscow suspended flights of Tajik private air carrier, Somon Air, to the Russian regions.  The ban included flights of the airline to all Russian cities, except Moscow and St. Petersburg.

Tajik and Russian authorities reached an agreement aimed at resolving a dispute that has prevented some civilian flights between their countries at a meeting of the Tajik-Russian commission for economic cooperation that too place in Dushanbe on January 27, 2017.  Somon Air was allowed to resume its flights to four Russian cities -- Krasnoyarsk, Krasnodar, Ufa, and Orenburg -- beginning on February 3.

The history of this dispute dates back to early November last year.  The two countries faced the threat of suspension of flights in early November because of a dispute between Moscow and Dushanbe over the status of Russia’s Zhukovsky International Airport, which was officially opened in May 2016.

Dushanbe called for a revision of existing bilateral agreements on mutual air flights, saying that Zhukovsky is Moscow’s fourth international airport and that it has increased the number of flights from Moscow to Tajikistan.

The Russian civil aviation authorities insisted that Zhukovsky International Airport is not under Moscow’s authority but of the town of Ramenskoye.

Tajikistan that time agreed only to flights for Ural Airlines and Tajik Air from Zhukovsky Airport.