According to data from the Russian Federal Air Transport Agency (Rosaviatsiya), Uzbekistan has become the primary international destination for Russian airlines in the 2026 summer schedule. In the current season, Russian airlines are operating flights to Uzbekistan across 67 routes, marking the highest number of international destinations, with China (57), Turkey (55), Thailand (35), and Egypt (33) following in the top five.

As noted by the aviation portal ATO.ru, since 2022, the Russian government has not published data on air traffic volumes for specific countries, but prior to the pandemic in 2019, Uzbekistan ranked ninth in passenger traffic volume with Russia. At that time, Russian airlines transported 1.24 million passengers between the two countries, which was 9.5 times less than the flow with Turkey and 2.4 times less than with China.

For Uzbek airlines, Russia also serves as a key market. According to Lufthansa Consulting calculations, in 2019, Russia accounted for 49% of the passenger flow of Uzbek airlines, and by 2022, this figure had grown to 52%. In the current season, the national carrier Uzbekistan Airways operates flights to 19 Russian cities, while Uzbekistan's largest private carrier, Centrum Air, serves 13 cities.

The significant passenger flow between the two countries is attributed to bilateral labor migration and Uzbekistan's appeal for business and tourist trips. Additionally, with Western airspace closed to Russian carriers, Tashkent has become a transit hub for Russians traveling to the United States, and Uzbekistan Airways is the only airline in Central Asia operating transatlantic flights to New York.

In July 2025, Uzbekistan and Russia agreed to triple the number of mutual weekly flights and expand flight geography, which would increase from over 310 to over 1,000 flights. It was also added that "triangular" flights connecting three destinations could be organized.

Source: www.gazeta.uz