BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jan. 4
By Klavdiya Romakayeva - Trend:
Uzbekistan and Pakistan discussed the organization of charter flights between Islamabad and Tashkent as part of the promotion of pilgrim tourism to Uzbekistan, Trend reports referring to Dunyo information agency.
The mentioned issue was discussed during a videoconference meeting held by the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Pakistan with the Chief Commercial Officer of the Pakistani Serene Air airline Khalid Bashir, which was also attended by other heads of the company Fahim Hamid and Muhammad Javed.
The Uzbek side was represented by Deputy Chairman of the State Committee for Tourism Development Ulugbek Azamov, Deputy Minister of Transport Zhasurbek Choriev, Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Religious Affairs Muzaffar Kamilov.
The parties considered the issues of increasing the frequency of flights of Uzbek airlines to Pakistan, in particular, the opening of the Tashkent-Islamabad-Tashkent direction as part of the promotion of pilgrim tourism to Uzbekistan.
The Pakistani partners were explained in detail the measures taken by the leadership of Uzbekistan to increase the attractiveness of the logistics capabilities of Uzbekistan, the announcement of the "open skies" regime at individual airports in the country, especially on preferences for the implementation of special flights within the framework of pilgrim tourism.
During the meeting, the prospects for the implementation of cargo flights to/from Pakistan were also discussed, in particular, the participants agreed on the prospects for expanding the geography of flights.
In addition, the important agenda of the meeting was the issue of tourism development within the framework of ziyorat (pilgrim) tourism in the post-COVID-19 period. In particular, the Deputy Chairman of the State Committee for Tourism Ulugbek Azamov shared his experience in the development of tourism in Uzbekistan and the priority given to this sector today, in particular the Cash Back program in support of the tourism industry initiated by the leadership of Uzbekistan.
In turn, Khalid Bashir assured the airline's full readiness to carry out direct flights to Uzbekistan. He said that today the company's fleet has five Boing 737-800 and one A330 aircraft. Two more aircraft of this brand will go into operation by the end of January 2021.
According to Bashir, in March 2020, the company received IATA permission to operate regular international flights to the UAE, China, and KSA from April 2020. However, due to the onset of the pandemic, the company was unable to implement the plan. Nevertheless, the company took an active part in the return of Pakistanis that remained abroad to their homeland and made 55 flights to these countries.
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