Tajik Air Awaits Airbus Approval to Resume International Flights

Tajik Air Has Been Trying to Fly Internationally for Two Years, It Still Cannot

Tajik Air has not resumed international flights as of July 2026, with the state-owned carrier's chairman confirming the airline is waiting on a supervisory board and government decision on the purchase of two Airbus aircraft before any cross-border services can begin. The flag carrier currently operates only domestic routes using aging Soviet-era propeller aircraft.

A 100-year-old airline grounded internationally. And the competitor it is supposed to challenge keeps growing without it.

A Restart Story That Has Already Failed Twice

Tajik Air's international suspension did not begin recently. The airline halted all operations in January 2019, briefly restarted in November of that year, then suspended again in September 2020 due to technical and financial difficulties. Since then it has been rebuilding in the most limited sense, resuming domestic routes to Khorog from October 2024 and adding Kulyab and Penjikent from January 2025 using An-28 propeller aircraft that entered Soviet service decades ago.

Every announcement about international route intentions has stalled at the same point, aircraft. Without modern jets that meet international airworthiness standards, Tajik Air cannot legally operate across borders, and without a government decision on procurement, those jets are not coming. The chairman's July 8 statement makes clear that decision has still not been made.

The Competitor That Filled the Void and Keeps Growing

While Tajik Air has been grounded internationally, Somon Air served 595,230 passengers in the first half of 2026, a 7% increase year-on-year, operating to Turkey, Germany, the UAE, Iran, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, China, Uzbekistan, India and Saudi Arabia. The private carrier is now preparing to expand further, with a new Boeing 737 MAX 8 delivery scheduled for July-August 2026 and new routes to London, Riyadh, Seoul and Beijing under preparation.

That is the market Tajik Air is theoretically trying to re-enter, except Somon Air is not standing still waiting for the competition to arrive. Every month Tajik Air spends waiting on a government procurement decision is a month Somon Air uses to add routes, add aircraft, and deepen passenger loyalty.

What Competition Would Actually Mean for Tajikistan

Tajikistan's aviation market is growing. Total passenger volumes exceeded 297,000 in the first quarter of 2026 alone, up 20,000 from the same period in 2025. A second international carrier would mean more routes, more competitive fares, and more options for a population that currently has no choice but to fly Somon Air or connect through a foreign hub.

The government knows this. The supervisory board knows this. The decision on two Airbus aircraft is not a complex geopolitical question, it is a procurement approval that would cost a fraction of what Tajikistan spends annually on aviation infrastructure. The fact that it has not happened yet is the real story behind every Tajik Air international comeback announcement that never quite arrives.