Etihad Celebrates Sold-Out Inaugural Flight to Tashkent, Its First Uzbekistan Route

Etihad Airways has launched daily nonstop service between Abu Dhabi and Tashkent, marking the carrier’s first-ever route to Uzbekistan and opening what the airline calls a new gateway to Central Asia. The inaugural flight, which departed earlier this month, sold out completely, a sign of strong early demand on the corridor.

Flight EY830 departs Abu Dhabi’s Zayed International Airport at 8:35pm and lands in Tashkent at 2:05am local time the next day. The return, EY831, leaves Tashkent at 3:25am and arrives back in Abu Dhabi at 6:55am. Both flights operate daily on an Airbus A320, with a total journey time of about four and a half hours.

The new route builds on a recently signed codeshare agreement between Etihad and Uzbekistan Airways, letting travelers connect beyond Tashkent to eight additional Uzbek cities, including Andijan, Bukhara, Fergana, Namangan, Nukus, Samarkand, Termez and Urgench, as well as select international destinations on Uzbekistan Airways’ network.

Uzbekistan has been steadily expanding air links with Gulf carriers as it courts more international visitors to sites like Samarkand and Bukhara. The Abu Dhabi-Tashkent route gives Etihad a foothold in a market it had not previously served, while offering travelers a new one-stop connection between Central Asia and Etihad’s broader global network.

Sources: The National, Etihad Newsroom