OREANDA-NEWS. February 03, 2011. National air company Uzbekistan Airways carried over 2 million passengers last year, increasing the number by 14.3% against 2009. The number of carried fights made up 23,500 and the average number of passengers per flight increased from 78 to 92.

According to Uzbekistan Airways press service, one of the most important events last year was receiving five new A320 liners, which replaced old Tu-154 planes on medium-range routes. This year, the company is expected to receive five more A320 planes.

The use of Airbus liners has proven its efficiency, the air carrier said. The first two planes received in July and August carried out 883 flights and transported 103,300 passngers and about 340 tons of cargo and paid luggage.

Opening of the new cargo terminal at Navoi international airport in August has contributed to the growth of cargo transportation last year by 63%. More than half of that amount was sent from Navoi alone.

Uzbekistan Airways director general Valeriy Tyan said the company’s priority was maintaining the highest safety, reliability and quality standards.

Last year, the company opened new flights to Madrid and Kaliningrad, as well as increased filght frequency to New Yor, Almaty, Kyiv, Seoul and Bangkok. This year the geography of flights wil expand to Khabarovsk (Russia), Mumbai (India) and Islamabad (Pakistan).

Uzbekistan Airways is continuing preparation to joining the SkyTeam alliance. The final variant of the general agreement on commitment to SkyTeam has already been prepared, the company said.

The carrier’s structure is being improved in accordance with SkyTeam standards. In August, Uzbekistan Airways signed a genera agreement with Sabre to introduce the frequent flyers program that complies with SkyTeam requirements.

Uzbekistan Airways Technics, the subdivision of the national air company, is increasing its production capacities. The enterprise carries out all types of line and base technical service of the planes of national and foreign airlines.