U.S, March 18 -- Uzbekistan's new Air Samarkand airline announced that it will begin its scheduled flight program on Thursday, March 21. New carrier will operate flights on the route between Samarkand and Istanbul using their Airbus A321neo aircraft. During the initial phase, round-trip services will run twice a week, with departures from Samarkand International Airport (SKD) to Istanbul International Airport (IST) on Mondays and Thursdays. The scheduled flight time for this route is approximately 5 hours.

Zafar Butaev has also been named as the new CEO of Air Samarkand, replacing Anton Khodiayan. While Khodiayan will remain with the airline as an advisor, he will return to his role as Director General of Air Marakanda, the airport manag...