Air Samarkand starts new services to Georgia

Uzbek carrier Air Samarkand has begun new services to the two largest cities in Georgia, part of several new international route developments and increases in weekly frequencies over the coming months. Air Samarkand has launched services to Tbilisi and Batumi with load factors of more than 90% in both directions on the inaugural flights. Passengers and officials from Air Samarkand were greeted in both cities by local officials and marked the new services with celebratory cakes, food and gifts for customers within the airport terminals. Air Samarkand is also increasing scheduled operations to the Turkish capital of Istanbul and Tel Aviv, the capital of Israel between now and early July. Tbilisi and Batumi: new charters from Tashkent to Georgia’s two largest cities: Air Samarkand operated a first flight from Tashkent to Tbilisi, the capital of Georgia, on May 18, and on May 24 to country’s second largest city and Black Sea resort of Batumi, again from Tashkent. Both are in partnership with the tour operator EasyBooking. Starting in June, services will double to twice weekly on the Tbilisi rotation, with departures on Thursdays and Sundays, while Batumi will be served three times a week from June 9, with flights on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Samarkand-Istanbul-Samarkand: even more flights to the Turkish capital: Air Samarkand increased frequencies on the Samarkand-Istanbul route from three to five times a week from May 26. Flights operate on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Samarkand-Tel Aviv-Samarkand: Air Samarkand opened flights on the Samarkand-Tel Aviv route on May 4 with the first direct connection from Samarkand to the business and cultural centre of Israel, and will add a second weekly service from July 3 to meet rising demand. Flights currently operate on Sundays, with a second rotation every Thursday being added. Air Astana starts direct Atyrau-Tiblisi flights Air Astana inaugurated direct flights from Atyrau to Tbilisi on 27th May 2025,  which fulfilled previously announced plans to boost air connectivity between western Kazakhstan and Georgia. The new service will operate three times a week on Tuesdays, Fridays and Sundays, with a flight time of just under two hours, is expected to be popular with both leisure tourists and business travelers. This new route is the fifth international service operated by Air Astana from western Kazakhstan. The airline already operates flights from Uralsk to Frankfurt, as well as from Atyrau to Istanbul, Dubai, Amsterdam.  A new service from Atyrau to Baku will be added on 31 May 2025. HK Express launches new Yiwu route HK Express Airways (HK Express) celebrated the launch of Hong Kong’s first direct air service to Yiwu, Zhejiang Province, with three weekly flights to Yiwu International Airport (YIW). CEO Jeanette Mao led a tourism delegation that included Travel Industry Council of Hong Kong Chairman Tommy Tam on the inaugural flight, while Legislative Council Member Perry Yiu attended the inauguration ceremony at the Hong Kong International Airport. Jeanette Mao, CEO of HK Express, said: “Our Chinese Mainland network expansion continues with Yiwu as our fifth destination and third in the Yangtze River Delta region after Ningbo (Zhejiang Province) and Changzhou (Jiangsu Province). This launch directly supports the HKSAR government’s new Hong Kong/Zhejiang Co-operation Conference Mechanism. Leveraging Cathay Group’s network strengths, we are reinforcing connectivity between Hong Kong, Chinese Mainland, Asia and other global hubs to drive cultural exchange and regional development, especially the interactions and development between Greater Bay Area and Yangtze River Delta. With 24 weekly mainland flights across five cities, we plan to double our mainland destinations this year, offering travellers greater flexibility with more options.” For Editorial Inquiries Contact: Editor Matt Driskill at [email protected] For Advertising Inquiries Contact: Head of Sales Kay Rolland at [email protected]