Sariosiyo (ICAO: UTSR), a regional airport in southern Uzbekistan, has reopened for commercial aviation on May 30 after a 30-year hiatus, with the first flight, operated by the regional carrier Silk Avia, bringing in 48 passengers from Tashkent.

The airline (part of Uzbekistan Airways Group) will be serving the route twice weekly, with ATR-72-600 turboprops, Uzbekistan Airports said.

Sariosiyo was closed to commercial flights in 1995. In the months leading up to the reopening, the airport's airside pavements – the single 1550-meter-long and 35-meter-wide runway, taxiway, and apron with two aircraft stands – were repaved. A new 1,100-square-meter terminal accommodating up to 100 passengers was built and inaugurated.

Sariosiyo is the fifth regional airport to have been reopened to revenue operations in Uzbekistan in the past several years. It follows in the footsteps of Muynak, Kokand, Shakhrisabz, and Zaamin.

The Azeri flag carrier Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL), a subsidiary of AZCON Holding, has joined the IATA Environmental Assessment (IEnvA) program.

The agreement was signed at IATA’s the Aviation Energy Forum in Baku held earlier this week.

Voluntary certification under IEnvA offers airlines, airports, MRO and ground handling providers, and other aviation stakeholders a turnkey environmental management solution, the airline explained.

The program is based on global practices and internationally recognized standards, including the ISO 14001 environmental management system standard and the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA).

“Signing up for IATA’s IEnvA program is a significant step forward in AZAL’s sustainability journey, as it will provide us with robust framework to systematically improve our environmental performance, align ourselves with global best practices, and contribute to the aviation industry’s decarbonization goals,” Jamil Manizade, AZAL Chief Commercial Officer, said.

Also at the forum, the airline signed up to join IATA’s CO2 Connect program, joining the club of 60+ carriers which use the CO2 Connect calculator to provide precise per-passenger carbon dioxide emissions data.

“By signing the CO2 Connect agreement with IATA, AZAL strengthens its commitment to transparent, data-driven climate action,” Manizade commented. “This collaboration enables us to share accurate CO2 emissions data and support more informed, sustainable travel choices in line with our decarbonization goals.”

As of May 6, 2025, there are 96 airlines operating in CIS countries with a combined fleet of around 1,100 aircraft, reports Finprom.kz.

Among Central Asian countries:

Kazakhstan has 10 registered airlines with a total of 98 aircraft. It ranks third in number of airlines and second in number of aircraft.

Uzbekistan has 12 airlines operating a fleet of 93 aircraft — second in terms of airline count and third in aircraft fleet.

Kyrgyzstan has 9 airlines and 21 aircraft.

Azerbaijan has 2 airlines with 42 aircraft.

Turkmenistan has 2 airlines and 18 aircraft.

Tajikistan has 1 airline with 6 aircraft.

On April 20, a freight train loaded with polyester chips left the Chinese city of Chongqing for Uzbekistan.

According to Xinhua, this marked the launch of a regular rail freight route between this southwestern Chinese metropolis and Central Asia.

According to China Railway Chengdu Group Co., Ltd. the freight service will operate on a regular basis with two trips per month.

In the first two months of 2025, about 25.6 thousand air conditioners worth $8.7 million were supplied to Uzbekistan from abroad, the Statistics Agency reported.

This is 2.1 thousand air conditioners or 9.2% more than in the same period of 2024.

Uzbekistan most actively imported air conditioners from China - 24,795 units.

Also, supplies of air conditioners came from:

Turkey - 287

South Korea - 215

Italy - 190

Russia - 89