Samarkand International Airport (SKD), Uzbekistan's second-largest airport served over 1.38mn passengers in 2024—a 36.6% increase compared to 2023. This marks the third consecutive year of record passenger growth, reaffirming the effectiveness of the public-private partnership (PPP) model in Uzbekistan’s aviation sector.
This was announced by Air Marakanda, the private company managing the airport since 2022. Despite the achievement, the airport fell short of its goal of serving 2mn passengers, a target set last year. Challenges such as the collapse of Uzbekistan’s first low-cost carrier, Humo Air, and the slow operational ramp-up of Air Samarkand contributed to the shortfall.
Samarkand Airport recorded a 43% surge in international traffic in 2024, handling over 1.31mn passengers on international routes. However, domestic passenger traffic saw a decline, dropping by 24% to approximately 71,000 passengers.
Popular international destinations included Moscow, Istanbul, St. Petersburg, Abu Dhabi, and Jeddah. Over the year, the airport expanded its route network, ending 2024 with flights to 23 international and three domestic destinations. This is an increase from 21 international and seven domestic routes in 2023.
Samarkand Airport solidified its position as Uzbekistan’s second-busiest airport, outpacing Namangan Airport, which served 759,800 passengers (+39% year-on-year). Tashkent International Airport remains the leader, accommodating 8.7mn passengers (+28%).
In November, SKD reported a 41% surge in passenger traffic, with over 1.13mn travelers served from January to October this year.
In addition, in August, Samarkand International Airport was recognized as the second fastest-growing airport in Europe and Central Asia over the last five years.
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