Demand for China flights surges 46 percent as visa-free regime boosts travel

This autumn, flight bookings from Uzbekistan increased by 12 percent, according to the ticketing service Aviasales.uz.

Photo: Christopher Pike / Reuters

Russia, Turkey, Kazakhstan, China, South Korea, the UAE, Azerbaijan, the United Kingdom, Latvia, and Thailand ranked among the ten most popular destinations.

Domestic bookings grew by 36 percent. Demand for flights to Kazakhstan rose by 41 percent, while average ticket prices remained unchanged from last year. Airfares to Turkey dropped 8 percent, and bookings to Azerbaijan climbed 12 percent.

Following the introduction of a visa-free regime, airfares to China decreased by 39 percent compared to last autumn, while the number of bookings surged by 46 percent.

The UAE showed the opposite trend – bookings fell by 36 percent, while average ticket prices increased by 16 percent. Aviasales.uz attributed this to the withdrawal of Hungarian low-cost carrier Wizz Air, which had previously operated flights from Uzbekistan to Abu Dhabi.

Every fifth international flight from Russia in September was booked to Uzbekistan. Aviasales.uz also noted growing interest from Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and several European countries.

Wizz Air suspended all flights from Abu Dhabi on 1 September, including routes to Tashkent. The company cited operational challenges and geopolitical instability in the Middle East as reasons for its decision.