Uzbekistan and Russia have struck an agreement under which the number of weekly direct flights between the two countries can be more than tripled to more than 1,000 per week, according to the Uzbek Ministry of Transport.

The agreement followed bilateral talks held by the countries’ aviation authorities in Moscow on July 21–22. The delegations discussed expanding air traffic, increasing flight frequencies and opening new destinations.

Under the new terms, designated carriers on each side will be able to operate 50 weekly flights each on the Tashkent-Moscow route.

Other major city pairings include 23 weekly flights each on the Samarkand-Moscow route and 14 flights per week each from each of Bukhara, Urgench, Fergana and Namangan to Moscow (112 flights overall).

Flights from Tashkent to St Petersburg, Krasnoyarsk and Sochi can each operate 14 times a week (42 in total), while the Termez–Moscow corridor will accommodate 10 flights weekly per side.

Additionally, each country’s carriers may operate seven weekly flights in each direction to other cities.

Russian airlines will be allowed to operate up to 560 flights per week from 80 international airports across Russia to all airports in Uzbekistan.

In return, Uzbek airlines will gain access to 203 weekly flights to 29 of Russia’s largest airports.

The agreement also introduces new operational flexibilities.

Both sides' carriers are now permitted to select up to five cities for “triangular” flight routes connecting three destinations, a move expected to elevate connectivity across regional hubs.

Previous restrictions on the number of airlines eligible to operate have also been lifted.

The expanded framework enables airlines from both countries to conduct over 1,000 flights weekly, making for a more than threefold increase from the current 310.

The deal, the Uzbek transport ministry said, grants carriers the right to operate the expanded schedule “with effective use of all destination cities.”

In the first five months of 2025, 4.2mn foreign tourists visited Uzbekistan for tourist purposes. Russia ranked fourth as a source of tourists, with 334,300 visitors hailing from the country.