15 January 2025, Samarkand: Samarkand International Airport maintained its record-breaking growth in 2024 with an historic high total of 1.38 million passengers, 37% more than in 2023. The fast-growing gateway to Uzbekistan’s historic city of Samarkand has now recorded 19 consecutive months of passenger growth, underpinning the continuing attraction of the historic city and neighboring region on the famous Silk Road, which is said to date back as far as 7-8,000 BC.
International visitors continued to drive the passenger traffic growth, up by 43% during the year, with Samarkand recording its largest increases in February (+59%), April (+60%), May (+62%) and June (+69%), which were all record months.
Ulugbek Shamsikulov, CEO of Air Marakanda, the airport management company for Samarkand airport, said: "These record-breaking figures underline the continuing development of Samarkand as an emerging center for tourism and commerce in Central Asia. The main factor behind this growth was the effective development of cooperation with existing airlines, as well as the attraction of new airline partners. Thanks to this, Samarkand airport continues to strengthen its position as a key transport hub in the region.”
In 2024, the main growth in passenger traffic came from international destinations, where more than 1.31 million passengers passed through the airport. The most popular flights were from Samarkand to Abu Dhabi, Istanbul, Jeddah, Moscow and St. Petersburg.
The number of take-off and landing operations at Samarkand increased by 23% - up to 11,000 flight arrivals and departures.
At the end of 2024, Samarkand International Airport expanded its route network to three domestic and 23 international destinations. Among the new destinations that opened last year were: Xi'an (China), Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt), Turkestan (Kazakhstan), Tyumen, Nizhny Novgorod and Irkutsk (Russia).
Award-winning Air Marakanda continues to develop facilities and services at Samarkand International Airport. In 2024, the following innovations were introduced:
· A dedicated call button for passengers with disabilities to immediately receive special assistance;
· Free passenger baggage scales to greatly simplify the process of preparing for flights;
· Three round-the-clock car rental points for international companies Hertz, SIXT and Europcar;
· Additional points of sale of SIM cards, accessories and jewelry stores opened, while new cafés and pastry shops were also unveiled within the airport terminal – in landside and airside locations – to further improve passengers and guest facilities.
Mr Shamsikulov added: “Our Air Marakanda strategic course is aimed at further expanding the route network and to improve the quality of service for all customers at Samarkand International Airport. Plans for 2025 include the opening of new destinations, further modernization of the airport infrastructure and the introduction of digital services to simplify the interaction of passengers with the airport. Moving forward Air Marakanda and Samarkand International Airport will continue to play a vital part in driving inbound tourism to our historic home city, to this fast-developing region, and to our wider country of Uzbekistan.”
News of the record-breaking growth of Samarkand International Airport going into 2025 underpins its position as one of the world’s fastest-growing airports. It was the second fastest-growing airport in Europe and Central Asia in the first six months of 2024, according to figures from the airport industry organization ACI Europe, which represents over 500 airports in 55 countries in Europe and Central Asia.
Additional information:
AIR MARAKANDA is a ground handling and management operator of the new terminal of Samarkand International Airport as part of the first public-private partnership project in the aviation industry of the Republic of Uzbekistan. For three years in a row, the new international terminal of Samarkand Airport has been among the top ten regional leaders in the Central Asian region of the international airport rating World Airport Awards (SKYTRAX). According to the results of the first half of 2024, which were published by the European organization ACI Europe, the Samarkand air harbor took second place in the category of medium airports.
Air Marakanda received four major awards at the prestigious international BLUESKY Aviation Awards 2024, taking home prizes for Innovative Design Project, Aviation Destination Promotion, Aviation Accessibility Project for Passengers with Disabilities and Aviation Cooperation and Partnership Development.
