“New International Flight Routes from Xi’an to Ashgabat and Dushanbe Fully Cover Central Asia”

Xinhua News Agency, Xi’an, May 13 (Reporter Zhang Bin and Fu Ruixia) The international flight from Xi’an to Ashgabat, the capital of Turkmenistan, took off for the first time on May 13. In addition, on May 18, Xi’an will also open its first international flight to Dushanbe, the capital of Tajikistan. This marks that Xi’an, the starting point of the ancient Silk Road, will achieve full coverage of passenger routes to the five Central Asian countries.

On May 13, the inaugural flight ceremony of the Xi’an-Ashgabat/Dushanbe international regular flight was held in Xi’an.Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Shao Rui

The reporter learned that the Xi’an-Urumqi-Ashgabat route will be operated every Saturday from May 13, with flight number CZ5085/6. The outbound flight departs from Xi’an at 17:30 Beijing time and arrives at 23:10 local time. Ashgabat; the return journey departs from Ashgabat at 00:40 local time the next day and arrives in Xi’an at 12:30 Beijing time.

The Xi’an-Urumqi-Dushanbe route will start flying every Thursday from May 18th, with flight number CZ5083/4. The outbound flight departs from Xi’an at 19:05 Beijing time and arrives in Dushanbe at 00:55 local time the next day ;The return journey departs from Dushanbe at 01:35 local time the next day and arrives in Xi’an at 12:30 Beijing time.

Li Jiuquan, deputy general manager of Xi’an Branch of China Southern Airlines Co., Ltd., which flies the above-mentioned routes, said that most of the passengers on this flight are business travelers, and the demand for travel will further increase in the future.

On May 13, passengers on the first Xi’an-Urumqi-Ashgabat flight were preparing to board.Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Shao Rui

Knowing the opening of the new flight route, Mi Yue, an international student from Tajikistan at Xi’an International Studies University, said happily: “There was no flight from Xi’an to Dushanbe before. After the opening of this flight, I can take it during my holidays. It will be much more convenient to go home.”

The opening of the new route has attracted widespread attention from people from all walks of life in Central Asian countries. Murodi Hamidov, general manager of Tajikistan “Traveler” travel company, said that after the opening of the new route, tourists will no longer need to make more detours, repeatedly compare the prices of air tickets, and consider which country to transit through, etc. factors, which will have a positive impact on exchanges between the peoples of the two countries.

On May 13, on the first Xi’an-Urumqi-Ashgabat flight, flight attendants conducted a cabin security check before takeoff.Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Shao Rui

Gurshada Urazalieva, an independent Uzbek analyst, said that connecting Xi’an to cities in Central Asian countries is of great significance, which will promote economic and trade exchanges between China and Central Asian countries, and further promote tourism development and cultural exchanges.

Xiong Jie, Secretary of the Party Committee of the Northwest Regional Administration of the Civil Aviation Administration of China, said that the joint construction of the “Belt and Road” initiative has deepened the exchanges between China and Central Asian countries. Cooperation in various fields such as culture, business and tourism will bring more opportunities.

It is reported that since the beginning of this year, Xi’an has successively opened passenger routes to Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan, and Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. (Participating reporters: Shao Rui, Zhang Jiye, Liu Yitong, Li Ao)