# Tashkent to host 7th Central Asia Aviation Summit amid growth in Uzbekistan’s air transport

*21 August 2026 · CentralAsia+Aero*

**On November 17, the Uzbek capital will host milestone international aviation gathering**

On November 17, 2026, Tashkent will once again become the meeting point for the region's aviation industry as it hosts the **[Central Asia Aviation Summit #7](https://www.uz.atocomm.eu/)**, the flagship edition of a conference series that has tracked the rapid transformation of air travel across Central Asia since its founding. The Summit returns to the Uzbek capital at a moment when the country's civil aviation sector is expanding faster than at any point in its post-Soviet history, positioning Uzbekistan as a rising hub between Europe, the Middle East and Asia.

**A NATIONAL AVIATION STRATEGY TAKING SHAPE**

The Summit arrives on the heels of a sweeping presidential decree signed by President Shavkat Mirziyoyev in October 2025, which set the country's civil aviation targets through 2030: growing the combined fleet of Uzbek airlines to 180 aircraft, raising the number of annual domestic and international flights to 200,000, and lifting yearly passenger traffic to 24 million. To finance this expansion, the government plans to allocate 250 billion soums annually between 2026 and 2028 toward airport modernization and new aviation infrastructure.

The momentum is already visible in the numbers. In the first half of 2026, the country's [airports handled](https://centralasiaplus.aero/2026/07/29/uzbekistan-airports-post-15-5-passenger-growth-in-h1-2026/) nearly 65,000 flights, an 8% increase year-on-year, while cargo and mail volumes jumped 33% to more than 51,500 tons. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Uzbekistan posted the [fastest air cargo growth](https://centralasiaplus.aero/2026/07/01/iata-central-asia-is-transitioning-into-an-intercontinental-air-bridge/) in Central Asia between 2019 and 2024 — a 182% increase — while its scheduled [route network expanded](https://centralasiaplus.aero/2026/07/03/uzbekistans-route-network-expands-by-11-year-on-year/) 89% since 2015 to 206 destinations, with 24 new routes launched in 2025 alone. The number of airlines serving the country has grown from just 16 in 2015 to nearly 50 today.

**UZBEKISTAN AIRWAYS EXPANDS AND PREPARES FOR THE MARKETS**

Flag carrier Uzbekistan Airways is central to this growth story. The airline carried 6.6 million passengers in 2025, up 6.5% year-on-year, while net profit rose 73.5% to 1.2 trillion soums — and it more than tripled again in the first quarter of 2026, to 151.8 billion soums. The carrier is working with Franklin Templeton, trustee of the Uzbekistan National Investment Fund (UzNIF), to prepare for a partial international listing of 15–20% of its shares — a move officials say could lift the airline's valuation from roughly $1.6 billion to $2.3 billion. That IPO, originally targeted for late 2026, is now expected to take place in 2027 as the transformation program continues.

**A NEW GATEWAY AND A MODERNIZED NETWORK**

Uzbekistan's boldest infrastructure move is the New Tashkent International Airport, for which a landmark public-private partnership agreement was signed in mid-2026 between state operator Uzbekistan Airports and an international consortium — Saudi Arabia's Vision Invest (45%), Japan's Sojitz Corporation (30%) and South Korea's Incheon International Airport Corporation (15%). The $2.5 billion first phase, under construction through 2030, will deliver two 4-kilometer runways and a 208,000-square-meter terminal designed to handle 20 million passengers and 129,000 tons of cargo annually — with capacity ultimately planned to grow to 46 million passengers over the following decades.

Beyond the capital, the government is reconstructing seven regional airports and building new ones in Muynak, Kokand, Zaamin, Shakhrisabz, Sariasiy and Sokh, expanding the national network to 18 airports. Navoi International Airport is being repositioned as an independently managed cargo and maintenance (MRO) hub with a porto-franco free customs zone, targeting a 2.3-fold rise in annual flights by 2030. To supply the industry with skilled personnel, Uzbekistan is also establishing a new Civil Aviation University in partnership with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (USA) and ENAC (France).

**WHY THE SUMMIT MATTERS NOW**

This wave of investment is why the [Central Asia Aviation Summit #7](https://www.uz.atocomm.eu/) carries particular weight this year. Central Asia overtook South Asia in 2025 to become the world's fastest-growing aviation sub-region, carrying roughly 60 million passengers, and industry leaders speaking at the Tashkent International Investment Forum in June 2026 said demand across the region has consistently outpaced even the most optimistic forecasts. The Central Asia Aviation Summit #10 will bring together airline and airport leadership, aircraft lessors and financiers, OEMs, MRO providers and government officials from Uzbekistan and neighboring countries to discuss fleet financing, airport privatization, route development and the region's long-term growth trajectory.

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Source: https://centralasiaplus.aero/2026/08/21/tashkent-to-host-7th-central-asia-aviation-summit-amid-growth-in-uzbekistans-air-transport/