Full control of Silk Avia (US, Samarkand) has been given to Uzbekistan Helicopters, a subsidiary of Uzbekistan Airways (HY, Tashkent International), according to a new presidential decree, and as part of the regional carrier’s “development strategy” its fleet of ATR72-600 turboprops will be expanded.
Decree number PK-337, called “On additional measures for the effective organisation of aviation activity”, was adopted on October 16 and publicised on October 19. It followed uncorroborated reports earlier this month that day-to-day control of the start-up was about to be transferred to the flag carrier from current owner Uzbekistan Airports JSC.
The decree specifies that:
- Uzbekistan Airports JSC’s 100% shareholding of the authorised capital of Silk Avia LLC will be transferred to the authorised capital of Uzbekistan Helicopters LLC under Uzbekistan Airways JSC;
- three ATR72-600s currently owned by Uzbekistan Airports “will be freely transferred” to Silk Avia;
- the number of ATR72-600s will be increased “as part of the implementation of a strategy of effective organisation and development” of Silk Avia;
- Uzbekistan Helicopters is now responsible for increasing the number of Silk’s domestic flights, launching new routes, and expanding the fleet.
Registered as a company in September 2021, Silk Avia first outlined its plans in November of that year, but it only obtained its Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) on April 20, 2023, starting scheduled flight operations shortly afterwards. In June, it signed commitments to increase its fleet to two ATR42-600s and eight ATR72-600s.
Silk Avia conducted its first international flight to Tamchy, Kyrgyzstan, in August and plans a scheduled route from Samarkand to the Kazakh city of Turkistan later this month.
