Uzbekistan and Ukraine will resume direct flights in May 2021, announced the Minister of Transport/ Chairman of Uzbekistan Airways Ilkhom Makhkamov at a press conference on Wednesday.
“Negotiations are underway with Kyiv, in principle we have some degree of certainty. We plan to launch the flights in May if nothing drastically changes the pandemic-wise. here will be two or three flights a week. For the time being, they are offering us UIA (Ukraine International Airlines) and SkyUp Airlines, ”the head of the Ministry of Transport said.
In addition, starting in May, Uzbekistan Airways intends to cancel 9 unprofitable flights to Paris, Rome, Milan, Amritsar, Mumbai, Bangkok, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta as part of the transition to a new business model, which will reportedly save the airline US$ 12.3 million ollars. According to the minister, these destinations had been low-profit for many years and negatively affected the financial position of the airline.
“This cancellation of flights is partially due to the pandemic and the carrier’s new strategy. If there is a demand, then we can always launch charter flights. In principle, this experience is applied everywhere,” said Ilkhom Makhkamov.
“If, by operating charter flights, we see the attractiveness then we can switch to regular flights,” he added.
