October 27, 2025, Samarkand. Samarkand International Airport, operated by Air Marakanda, has officially switched to the 2025–2026 fall-winter flight season (FWS).
At the end of the spring-summer period (SSP) 2025, Samarkand International Airport served over 900,000 passengers, which is 6.8% more than in the same period last year. This steady positive trend demonstrates the strengthening of Samarkand's status as one of the leading aviation hubs in Central Asia and confirms the growing attractiveness of the region for business and tourist travel.
During the summer schedule period, the airport's route network continued to expand actively. Ural Airlines launched direct flights from Samarkand to Krasnoyarsk, and Azimuth Airlines, the base airline of the southern region of Russia, launched flights to Samara and Krasnodar. Airlines that resumed flights to countries near and far abroad joined the airport's partners. These include Azerbaijan's national carrier AZAL Airlines, which launched direct flights to Baku, Kazakhstan's QAZAQ AIR (VIETJET QAZAQSTAN), which began operating regular flights to Astana with a connection in Turkestan, and China Southern Airlines, which resumed flights to Urumqi.
Centrum Air played a special role in the development of the route network, as its base at Samarkand International Airport significantly expanded the geography of flights from Samarkand. During the winter-spring period, the Uzbek carrier operated flights to eight destinations, including new international routes to Dushanbe, Vladivostok, and Khabarovsk, as well as domestic flights to Urgench.
To improve convenience for passengers and airport visitors, additional services have been added to the general terminal area: a barbershop, a Gate 24/7 food court, and a chain of Yess Coffee coffee shops.
In the upcoming fall-winter season, partner airlines will continue to increase the frequency of flights on popular routes: Azimuth Airlines will increase the frequency of flights to Ufa to three times a week, Sunexpress flights to Izmir will also increase to three times a week, and Ural Airlines will begin operating daily flights to Moscow (Domodedovo Airport) and three times a week to Yekaterinburg. In the new season, QAZAQ AIR (VIETJET QAZAQSTAN) is expected to launch direct flights to the capital of Kazakhstan, Astana, and Utair is expected to resume flights to St. Petersburg.
The transition to the autumn-winter season is traditionally associated with changes in flight schedules and increased requirements for flight safety in conditions of low temperatures and possible weather restrictions. As part of preparations for the autumn-winter season, all airport departments underwent a comprehensive check of their technical and operational readiness. Special equipment was serviced, including snow removal machines and runway de-icing equipment. Particular attention was paid to the preparation of emergency and rescue services, ground handling services, as well as the airport's power supply and lighting systems.
Additional information:
AIR MARAKANDA is the operator of ground handling and management services at the new terminal of Samarkand International Airport as part of the first public-private partnership project in the aviation industry in the Republic of Uzbekistan. For three years in a row, the new international terminal at Samarkand Airport has been among the top ten regional leaders in Central Asia in the World Airport Awards (SKYTRAX) international airport ranking. At the end of 2024, Samarkand Airport ranked second in terms of passenger traffic growth in its category according to ACI EUROPE.
AIR MARAKANDA Press Service
Tel.: +998 97 907 8767
Email: pr@airmarakanda.com
Website: https://samarkandairport.com/
