Samarkand International Airport (SKD) has celebrated the second anniversary opening of its new terminal by reporting the continued impressive growth of passenger numbers, having already doubled in both of its first two years.

SKD also confirmed that airlines will soon launch new services to Antalya in Turkey, Baku in Azerbaijan, Tel Aviv in Israel, Turkistan in Kazakhstan, and Urumqi in north-west China. Carriers are also increasing frequencies to various cities, including to Istanbul, St. Petersburg and Moscow.

The stunning new facility is the first airport in Uzbekistan to be built in a public-private partnership. SKD says through-put has already risen by 49% to 195,001 passengers in the opening two months of 2024, driven by surging demand for international travel to cities in neighbouring countries and by a huge increase in overseas visitors arriving at Uzbekistan’s second largest and historic city.

Passenger volumes will also grow thanks to the development of a new home carrier, Air Samarkand, which will launch scheduled services to the Turkish capital of Istanbul tomorrow (Thursday, 21^st March). Air Samarkand says it will soon confirm further cities for its scheduled route network, as well as a burgeoning list of charter flights to popular package holiday markets.

Anton Khojayan, CEO of the airport’s management company Air Marakanda, said: “We are seeing huge demand for domestic and overseas travel from our local area and from airlines bringing overseas visitors to explore our incredible ancient city of Samarkand. As we continue to develop our airport infrastructure, we will also expand our airport route network through existing airlines’ increasing capacity and as we attract new carriers to Samarkand.”

Samarkand’s stunning new airport terminal is shaped to resemble an open book and attracted some 495,000 passengers in its first year of opening, before passenger volumes doubled to surpass the magic million mark in 2023.

More than 1.6 million passengers have now used the airport during its first two years, with the number of destinations growing to a confirmed one domestic and 20 international locations for the 2024 summer season (31 March – 26 October).

Khojayan added: “Uzbekistan, and Samarkand in particular, are both still largely untapped in terms of their tourism and commercial potential. A huge investment has been made in first-class infrastructure and visitor facilities to sit alongside the incredible Uzbek natural and cultural treasures, which together provide almost limitless potential for future growth.”

Samarkand is one of the oldest cities in Asia, its origins dating back to the seventh or eighth millennium BC. Situated on the famed Silk Road, it is in the heart of the country’s ancient and medieval tourist attractions that exist in the city and the surrounding Bukhara, Khiva, Shakhrisabz, and Zaamin National Park regions. Some 13 million people who live within and surrounding Samarkand were previously forced to endure time-wasting flight connections in Tashkent and other regional airports, to reach major international destinations.

Together with new infrastructure, Uzbekistan is fast developing on the international tourism map, as well as offering new opportunities for overseas investment. For example, the new 280-hectare Silk Road Samarkand project is the first multi-functional international tourism centre in Asia, embracing eight world-class hotels, international conference venues, parks, sports areas and cultural sites.