Tajikistan's aviation authorities state that the primary reason for the lack of air service between Dushanbe and Khorog, the capital of the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO), remains the absence of an aircraft suitable for high-altitude conditions.

"Currently, work is underway with the Somon Air Company,” Habibullo Nazarzoda, Director of the Civil Aviation Agency under the Government of Tajikistan, told reporters in Dushanbe on July 24.  

It should be noted that the national air carrier Tajik Air had previously operated this route, but it is currently inactive because the available planes are not in flight-worthy condition.  Specifically, according to Nazarzoda, two AN-28 aircraft, which previously operated regular flights to Khorog, are inoperable.

Habibullo Nazarzoda is in the middle of the photo; photo / Asia-Plus.

The head of the agency recalled that a year ago, there was a presentation of the L410 NG aircraft (produced by the Czech company LET Aircraft Industries), which was planned to be purchased for flights to Khorog.  "A test flight was conducted on the Dushanbe-Khorog route. However, the aircraft's altitude characteristics do not allow it to fly this route on a regular basis," he said.

Nazarzoda further noted that other proposals for acquiring a suitable aircraft would be considered in the near future, and flights on this route will resume.  He did not specify which proposals are being considered.

It is worth reminding that Tajik Air suspended flights on this air route in October 2016.  Before that, the flights to Khorog were reportedly carried out by a sole remained Antonov-28 in the Tajik Air’s fleet.  This plane outlived its service life a long time ago.  The price of air ticket for the Dushanbe-Khorog flight operated by Tajik Air was 681 somonis.

Antonov-28 at Khorog airport; photo / tajikairlines.com

In 2019, Tajikistan PACTEC International Company operated several flights to Khorog from the military airfield in Fakhrobod, using a private six-seat plane.  The price for the ticket was 1,100 somonis (In 2019, the exchange rate of the US dollar against the Tajik national currency, the somoni, was about 1:9.4). 

Dushanbe International Airport (DIA) in June the same year prohibited PACTEC International Company from operating flights to Khorog demanding concluding an agreement and paying 101 USD for each landing at Khorog airport.

On June 16, 2020, Tajik Air resumed flights from Dushanbe to Khorog for a while, using its Antonov-28.  The air ticket for the Dushanbe-Khorog flight cost 990 somonis.  Children between five and eleven received a 50% discount and children under five traveled free.  (In June 2020, the exchange rate of US dollar against the somoni was 1:10.3).