A Mashhad-Dushanbe flight that was operated by Iran’s private air company, Varesh Airlines, yesterday marks the resumption of air travel between Tajikistan and the Islamic Republic of Iran after an eight-month pause.  

Varesh Airlines’ Boeing 737-500 with 83 passengers on board landed at Dushanbe International Airport on June 6.

The flight, which originated in the Iranian northeastern city of Mashhad, flew back to Iran on the same day with 86 passengers on board that included members of Tajik youth futsal team, according to the Iranian diplomatic mission in Dushanbe.

Tajik sportsmen will participate in the 2019 AFC U-20 Championship that will take place in the Iran city f Tabriz from June 14-22.  

The Iranian Embassy says that currently, there will be only one return flight per week, on Thursdays.

Iranian diplomatic mission, however, hopes that flights connecting the capital cities of the two countries will be launched in the near future.  

Iran’s private air company, Varesh Airlines, was established in 2018 and carried out its first flight from Tehran to Sari, the provincial capital of Mazandaran on October 9 last year.

Flights between the two countries were suspended in October last year.  Then the Iranian airline Aseman Airlines, which operated the flights on the Mashhad-Dushanbe route, stopped the flights, reportedly due to low profitability.