Uzbekistan Airways has launched a new direct connection between the Uzbek capital, Tashkent, and Spain’s Madrid, with an inaugural ceremony at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport’s Terminal 1, attended by the Central Asian republic’s ambassador to Spain and an array of airline officials.
The new eight-hour route will be one of the longest-haul flights operated by the Uzbek flag carrier and is scheduled once weekly on a Monday, departing Tashkent at 10:00 am Tashkent time and arriving in Madrid at just after 5:00 pm Madrid time. Departure from Madrid then takes place at 6:35 pm, with arrival in Tashkent the next day at 4:40 am local time. It will be served by a Boeing 787 widebody with 270-seat capacity.
Although Iberojet has run flights to Tashkent, and World2Fly has also offered seasonal charter services from Madrid to Tashkent and Urgench previously, the Uzbekistan Airway’s website is hailing the route as a fresh way for Uzbeks to fulfil bucket-list travel wishes by visiting the Spanish capital. “Oh, how my heart is drawn to Spain — royal palaces, the passion of flamenco, bullfighting, the Mediterranean Sea, and, of course, Real Madrid. What if we told you that in the spring of 2025, Uzbekistan Airways will start operating direct flights between Tashkent and Madrid?” the carrier’s marketing material says.
With 11 new scheduled destinations, other European capitals are also served by the carrier, including Frankfurt, Istanbul, London, Milan, Munich, Paris, and Riga. The Tashkent-Milan route is upping its frequency, from one to three flights per week, from April 2025.
Further indications of an increasing Uzbek appetite for travel include 2024 figures that show the Uzbek carrier handled six million passengers for the first time ever, beating 2023’s record by an impressive 20%. To cope with the demand, Daryo points out the airline has “enhanced its fleet by leasing two Airbus A320neo aircraft and acquiring two Airbus A330-200 widebody planes through wet leasing from Qanot Sharq.”
Uzbekistan Airways received permission from the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) to carry out flights within the European Union in 2015 after new EU regulations came into force governing safety monitoring. At the time, officials noted that the carrier received EU permissions without any EASA notices, underlining its reliability and safety record.
In addition to European services, the airline operates to national and international destinations in Asia and North America, to cities such as Bishkek and Osaka, the Madrid airport’s website notes. It also operates codesharing flights with other airlines such as AirBaltic, Belavia, Air Korean, Malaysia Airlines, S7 Airlines, Turkish Airlines and Ural Airlines.
