Private jet to Uzbekistan

Samarkand, Bukhara and Khiva, the old cities of the Silk Road with their tiled madrasas, minarets and mausoleums, lie hundreds of kilometres apart and far from the capital. Each of them has an international airport with a long runway, so a private jet from Europe can land at the first city of the tour and leave from the last one. Business travel goes mostly to Tashkent, where ministries, banks and investment projects are based, and there private aircraft use a separate airport, Tashkent East.

Closed and restricted airspace pushes the route from Europe south, over the Black Sea, the Caucasus and the Caspian, then across Turkmenistan or western Kazakhstan. Operators also keep clear of Iranian airspace. From central Europe the detour is modest, and a super midsize jet reaches every Uzbek city without a stop from most hubs. As a broker, we line up operators with experience of Uzbek permits and book handling separately in each city of the tour.

Tell us which cities you want to see and in which order, the dates and the number of passengers; a consultant proposes the aircraft and the order of landings, with prices.

What private flyers come for

Scheduled travel from most of Europe means a change on the way, and the old cities have few international connections. With a private jet a group can land in Samarkand in the evening and fly home from Urgench a week later, without returning to the capital.

Route and flight times

Times as shown in the price tables, from engine start to arrival at the stand:

For central and western Europe the tables add 10 % to the straight line for the detour and the airways. From northern Germany, Poland and Scandinavia, whose direct line would cross restricted airspace, they add 25 %. From Turkey and Greece the route is close to the straight line, and Gulf-based operators plan their own routing. Westerly winds make the flight home longer, especially in winter. If a stop is needed, the operator chooses it in Turkey, the Caucasus or on the Caspian coast, and the passengers usually stay on board.

Prices for a private flight to Uzbekistan

The prices are one-way charters of the whole aircraft, before landing permits, handling, parking and passenger taxes. Each row goes to the city that fits the tour, and its time is that of the first aircraft priced.

From the European hubs

A Praetor 600 flies from Munich to Tashkent East for EUR 46,000 and from Vienna to Bukhara for EUR 41,000. Samarkand costs EUR 47,000 from Milan and EUR 49,000 from Geneva or Nice. Madrid is the one hub from which the Praetor 600 and the Challenger 650 stop on the way, while the Global 6000 flies it in 8:03 h.

From northern Germany, Poland and Scandinavia

From Turkey and Greece

From the Gulf

From the neighbouring countries

The western airports are the cheapest from Europe: Warsaw - Urgench costs EUR 38,000 in a Praetor 600, against EUR 52,000 from Hamburg to Tashkent East. From Istanbul a Citation Latitude reaches Samarkand in 4:43 h for EUR 29,000, and from Dubai a Praetor 500 flies to Samarkand for EUR 23,000. A light jet links Tashkent East with Almaty for EUR 11,500 and Samarkand with Dushanbe for EUR 9,000, and from Baku in Azerbaijan the Caspian crossing to Urgench costs EUR 12,500. Taxes come from the country of take-off: France charges a jet passenger tax that rises with distance, about EUR 1,015 to Uzbekistan compared with about EUR 420 inside Europe, Italy EUR 200 per passenger on flights to or from it over 1,500 km and Austria EUR 12; there is also British Air Passenger Duty by distance band (its higher private-jet rate only for 20 t or more and fewer than 19 seats), and departure taxes in Germany, Norway and the Netherlands, the last only for aircraft from 5.7 t. Uzbek charges are listed in the quote.

Business jet price per flight hour

Heavy Jets from EUR 8,300 / hour

Light Jets from EUR 3,200 / hour

Ultra Long Range Jets from EUR 12,000 / hour

Super Midsize Jets from EUR 6,300 / hour

Very Light Jets from EUR 2,500 / hour

Long Range Jets from EUR 9,800 / hour

Midsize Jets from EUR 4,500 / hour

Turboprops from EUR 2,000 / hour

Three trips worked through

Price per seat

With the aircraft hired as a whole, the share per person falls as the group grows:

Calculator

The calculator gives a first figure; name the cities and their order in the comment.

Airports and terminals

Business aviation in the capital does not use the main passenger airport, Tashkent International (TAS), which no longer accepts private aircraft. The old cities have international airports of their own, with border control and customs, so the first landing can be in Samarkand or Bukhara. The ICAO codes of Uzbek airports changed from UT to UZ, and older charts and websites still show the old ones.

Each landing needs its own permit, applied for by the operator through an Uzbek handling agent. For the capital it is often issued within about a day, but we plan on three working days, and for regional airports we confirm opening hours and border control for the date. Termez lies on the Afghan border, so the operator plans the approach and departure away from Afghan airspace. In summer the desert heat at Bukhara and Urgench cuts the weight a full aircraft can lift, so we time departures from there for the cool hours.

Between the cities: plane, train or car

In a straight line Tashkent is about 270 km from Samarkand, 450 km from Bukhara and 720 km from Urgench. Each landing within the country needs a separate permit, and whether a foreign aircraft may carry passengers between two Uzbek cities is cleared with the aviation authority before booking; if not, a local operator flies the sector. Many groups combine flights with the fast train, which runs from Tashkent to Samarkand in just over two hours and reaches Bukhara in under four hours in total. There is no second border check on a domestic sector.

Which aircraft

A couple with hand luggage and a flexible plan can take a midsize jet with one stop; a family or a group of friends with suitcases is better served by a super midsize jet, and a heavy jet by groups of ten or more.

A cheaper aircraft with one stop, or a nonstop one? Give us your number and a consultant compares the two for your dates.

The Uzbek year month by month

April, May, September and October are the best months for the Silk Road cities, and hotels in Samarkand and Bukhara fill early then, so we book them with the flight. July and August are very hot in the desert, and winter is quiet. Empty Legs back to Europe are most common at the end of the spring and autumn seasons, when aircraft that brought tour groups fly home.

Eid al-Fitr and Eid al-Adha follow the lunar calendar and move every year, so we check their dates before fixing meetings.

Empty Legs to and from Uzbekistan

Many trips here are one-way for the aircraft, because the group tours the country for a week and the jet flies home. These sectors are offered at a reduced price:

Uzbek permits apply to an Empty Leg as to any charter, and the operator keeps control of the timing. Mail empty-legs@jets.flights with the route and your possible dates.

Travelling with a dog or cat

Cats and dogs ride in the cabin once the operator has said yes in advance. Uzbekistan has its own veterinary rules, and the return to Europe needs the most preparation:

• Leaving the EU: ISO microchip implanted before the rabies vaccination, the vaccination at least 21 days before travel, EU pet passport, up to five animals.
• Entering Uzbekistan: a health certificate issued shortly before the flight and endorsed by a state vet, and a rabies vaccination given at least 30 days and no more than 12 months before arrival. The chip number should appear on every document.
• Veterinary control on arrival takes place at designated airports, so we confirm in writing where it happens before the flight is booked.
• Uzbekistan counts as an unlisted country for the EU, so the return needs a rabies antibody result of at least 0.5 IU/ml; a test done before leaving the EU spares the three-month wait, and the flight home lands at an airport with a travellers' point of entry for pets.
• On a tour, every hotel must accept the animal, and during a fuel stop it stays on board.

Entry, registration and customs

Uzbekistan is outside the EU and the Schengen area; passengers clear passport control and customs at the first airport, and at Tashkent East this takes a few minutes in the business aviation terminal.

Checklist before take-off

• Passports valid for six months, with two blank pages.
• The cities and their order, which decide the permits.
• Hotel addresses in every city for the registration.
• Names and passport details for the landing permits.
• Cash declared on arrival, the form kept for departure.
• Medicines in their original packaging.
• Pet documents for both directions.

Booking step by step

1. Send the cities, the dates, the number of passengers and the baggage.
2. We ask operators for the route and fuel plan and compare one aircraft that waits with two one-way flights.
3. Two to four offers arrive, each with operator, model, route, flight time and the aircraft price, and you pick one.
4. After the contract and payment the operator files the overflight permits and each Uzbek landing permit; we tell the driver which airport to go to.
5. On arrival a handler meets you at the aircraft, border control and customs follow, and the car waits outside the terminal.

Questions about private flights to Uzbekistan

• • How much does a private jet to Uzbekistan cost?

  • From EUR 38,000 one way for the whole aircraft, Warsaw - Urgench in a Praetor 600. Munich - Tashkent East costs EUR 46,000 and Geneva - Samarkand EUR 49,000, with permits, handling and taxes added.

• • Where do private jets land in Tashkent?

  • At Tashkent East, also called Tashkent-Khumo, the airport for business aviation. The main passenger airport no longer accepts private aircraft.

• • Can we fly straight to Samarkand?

  • Yes. Samarkand has border control and customs around the clock, so it can be the first landing; from Milan a Praetor 600 takes 6:55 h.

• • Which airport is closest to Khiva?

  • Urgench, about 30-40 km from Khiva. A tour can start in Samarkand and end in Urgench, with the aircraft flying two one-way sectors.

• • Is a visa required for Europeans?

  • EU and UK citizens need none for up to 30 days. The passport should be valid for six months on arrival, and the stay is registered within three days, usually by the hotel.

• • Why is the flight longer than the map suggests?

  • European operators avoid closed and restricted airspace and Iran, so the jet crosses the Black Sea, the Caucasus and the Caspian.

• • Can the same aircraft fly us between the cities?

  • Often, but each landing needs a permit and domestic sectors by a foreign aircraft are cleared first. The fast train between Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara is a good alternative.

• • Which months suit a Silk Road trip best?

  • April-May and September-October. July and August are very hot in Bukhara and Khiva, and winter can bring frost.

• • How early should we book for spring or autumn?

  • Several weeks ahead, because hotels near the monuments fill first. The landing permit itself needs about three working days.

• • Can our cat come along?

  • Yes, in the cabin, with a health certificate, a rabies vaccination at least 30 days old and an antibody test done before leaving home for the return.

• • What is the time difference?

  • The country stays on UTC+5 all year, so it is 5 h ahead of London in winter and 4 h in summer.