Ambassador: High Fuel Costs Keep Turkish Airlines Tickets to Tajikistan Expensive

Turkish Ambassador to Tajikistan Umut Acar has said that Turkish Airlines flights to Tajikistan remain relatively expensive due to the high cost of aviation fuel in the country.

“Currently, fuel in Dushanbe is the most expensive in the world, which directly affects airfare,” the ambassador noted, The Caspian Post informs via Tajik media.

He explained that Turkish Airlines pays $1,780 per ton of fuel in Dushanbe, while Somon Air pays only $930 per ton in Istanbul for the same volume. “If aviation fuel prices decrease, ticket prices will also go down,” he added.

Ambassador Acar also highlighted that Turkish Airlines has increased flights between Istanbul and Dushanbe to five per week since August.

He praised the Tajik authorities for reducing various airport service fees at Dushanbe International Airport, which has helped slightly lower ticket prices. However, he emphasized that a significant drop in airfare would require lower fuel costs at the airport.

Aviation fuel in Tajikistan has long been among the most expensive worldwide. In early 2020, Thomas Hallam, then CEO of Somon Air, described Dushanbe Airport as having the highest refueling tariffs in the world.

According to the Civil Aviation Agency under the Tajik government, fuel accounts for up to 45 per cent of an airfare’s cost, underlining the critical role of fuel prices in airline ticket pricing.