Iran’s Kish Airlines will introduce direct flights between Dushanbe and Kish Island to promote tourism and increase the number of foreign visitors during the Navrouz celebrations.

Iranian media outlet Didar-e Emrooz says these special flights, timed for the Navrouz festival, will be operated on Airbus A321 aircraft starting from March 16.

Tajikistan’s Civil Aviation Agency informed Asia-Plus that three flights are planned during the Navrouz festivities.  However, it remains uncertain whether the flights will continue beyond the holiday period.

Kish Airlines (Persian: Havapeyma-ye Kish) is an airline operating from Kish Island, Iran.[1] It operates international, domestic and charter services as a scheduled carrier. Its main bases are Kish International Airport and Mehrabad International Airport, Tehran.

Established on December 16, 1989, and started operating in 19090, the airline is reportedly owned by Kish Free Zone Organization (79%), Kish Investment and Development (11%) and Kish Development and Servicing (10%)

Kish is a 91.5-square-kilometre resort island in Bandar Lengeh County, Hormozgan Province, off the southern coast of Iran in the Persian Gulf.  The island constitutes the city of Kish.  Owing to its free trade zone status, the island is marketed as a consumer's paradise, offering shopping centers, tourist attractions, and resort hotels. It has an estimated population of around 40,000 residents and about 12 million visitors annually.

Since the mid-1990s, the Iranian government has embarked on an aggressive campaign to position Kish as a rival to Dubai and to Doha.  The campaign has included massive construction projects and programs designed to attract foreign investment and trade.  Within the area of the Kish Free Zone, as it is known, the standard laws of the Islamic Republic of Iran are far more relaxed than on the mainland.  This has resulted in more domestic tourism and international trade on the island.  Kish's population reportedly includes both Muslims and Christians.