Tajikistan’s privately owned air carrier, Somon Air, is expected to resume flights to Moscow from the Tajik northern city of Khujand on May 3.

Somon Air has announced resumption of its four weekly flights from Dushanbe to Moscow (on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays) and three weekly flights from the northern city of Khujand to Moscow (on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays).

“The flights on these air routes will be resumed on Wednesday, May 3,” a source at Somon Air told Asia-Plus in an interview.  

Recall, Somon Air, was barred from conducting its four weekly flights from Dushanbe to Moscow and three weekly flights from Khujand to Moscow in early April.  The ban was reportedly response to Tajikistan's refusal to allow Russian airline Yamal to fly to Dushanbe from the Zhukovsky airport outside Moscow.

Tajik and Russian aviation authorities have reached an agreement on lifting restrictions on Somon Air’s flights to Moscow during the recent negotiations in Moscow.

Somon Air is the first private airline in Tajikistan with an office headquartered in Dushanbe.  The airline operations are based at Dushanbe International Airport.  The airline started operating on February 5, 2008 with regular flights to Moscow and Dubai.

Somon Air also serves as the official carrier of President of the Republic of Tajikistan and other Tajikistan high-ranking officials.

Since formation, Somon Air has been primarily focused on passenger service and transportation to Eastern Europe and other locations.  Most flights to international destinations operate from Dushanbe.

The airline uses the Boeing 737 in its fleet.  Somon Air now operates 2 Boeing 737-300s, 2 Boeing 737-800s and 2 Boeing 737-900ERs.

Somon Air now operates to the following destinations: Afghanistan (Kabul); China (Urumqi); Germany (Frankfurt am Main); Kazakhstan (Almaty); Pakistan (Lahore); Russia (Irkutsk, Khanty-Mansisysk, Kazan, Krasnodar, Krasnoyarsk, Moscow, Orenburg, St. Petersburg, Nizhnevartovsk, Tyumen and Yekaterinburg); Saudi Arabia (Jeddah); Tajikistan (Khujand); Turkey (Istanbul); Ukraine (Simferopol); and the United Arab Emirates (Dubai).