IATA opens an office in Tashkent and prepares BSP: Uzbekistan wants to strengthen its position as the aviation hub of Central Asia
The International Air Transport Association, IATA, announced on April 21, 2026, that it is opening a permanent office in Tashkent and that the launch of the Billing and Settlement Plan system, better known as BSP, is being prepared in Uzbekistan by the end of the year. At first glance, this move looks technical, but in practice it means much more than the administrative expansion of one global organization. For a country that has been rapidly developing transport infrastructure in recent years, liberalizing the air sector and trying to attract more international carriers, IATA’s physical presence in the capital represents a political and economic signal that Uzbekistan wants to play a larger role on the map of Eurasian air traffic.
The announcement comes at a time when official and international data point to the growth of the Uzbek market. According to available IATA data, aviation in Uzbekistan directly employs about 12,400 people, while the total impact of the sector, together with the supply chain, employee spending and tourism, supports more than 128 thousand jobs. IATA also estimates that the total contribution of aviation reaches about 0.9 percent of national GDP, with an additional broader effect of international tourism on the domestic economy. In such a framework, the decision to open an office in Tashkent is not merely a formality, but an indicator that Uzbekistan is no longer viewed from the perspective of the global industry as a peripheral market, but as a space for growth.
Why the new office matters
In its statements, IATA emphasizes that the office in Tashkent should serve as an operational and expert point of support for domestic and foreign carriers, airports and regulators. In practice, this means greater availability of experts for safety standards, operational procedures, market rules and financial mechanisms that are standard in international civil aviation. When such an organization operates directly on the ground, the implementation of standards usually becomes faster, communication with local authorities simpler, and the inclusion of domestic actors in international processes easier.
IATA Regional Vice President for Europe Rafael Schvartzman said that Uzbekistan is becoming the leading market of Central Asia in passenger and cargo traffic and that the new office and BSP will provide strategic support to the growth of air traffic through strengthening safety and operational efficiency. Translated into the language of passengers and the market, this means an attempt to introduce more quickly procedures that are already standard elsewhere, to make business easier for carriers, and to connect the domestic market more strongly with international distribution and sales channels.
For Uzbekistan, this is important also because of the reputational aspect. Countries that want to develop the role of a regional hub need not only new runways, terminals and transport corridors, but also institutional credibility. Airlines, investors and the tourism sector look at the broader picture: how predictable the market is, whether the rules are aligned with international practice, how transparent the regulatory processes are and whether business can be planned long term. The opening of an IATA office does not solve all these challenges by itself, but it shows that Uzbekistan wants to move precisely in that direction.
What BSP actually changes
For the wider public, the abbreviation BSP may sound like a technical detail, but in air transport it is one of the key mechanisms for airline ticket sales and financial settlement between airlines and accredited travel agencies. IATA describes BSP as a global system that simplifies sales, reporting and the transfer of payments, and its main value lies in the fact that it consolidates a large number of individual transactions into a standardized and transparent financial flow. Instead of a series of separate settlements between each agency and each company, the system enables consolidated settlement and clearer control.
For the domestic market, this could have several concrete consequences. First, carriers gain more efficient access to ticket distribution through the global network of accredited agents. Second, domestic agencies and partners find it easier to work with international carriers within a standardized system familiar to large markets. Third, financial risk and administrative costs can be reduced through unified procedures and digital tools such as BSPlink, the platform through which data, reports and requests related to sales and settlement are exchanged in the BSP environment.
In its announcement about Uzbekistan, IATA states that BSP will enable airlines to process financial transactions more cost-effectively on a global level and to achieve better international distribution of products. This is especially important for markets that want to attract new companies and increase the number of routes. In a sector where competitiveness is often decided by the combination of cost, load factor and the availability of sales channels, financial infrastructure is not a secondary topic, but one of the foundations of growth.
Uzbekistan is building a broader aviation strategy
The new IATA presence fits into the broader picture of Uzbek transport and development policy. The state leadership has for years spoken about turning the country into a regional hub that would connect Central Asia with the Caucasus, Europe and Asian markets. This ambition relies on the country’s geographic position, but also on the gradual modernization of transport infrastructure, including airports, road and rail corridors and logistics projects.
In March 2026, the World Bank announced that its project supporting the modernization of transport infrastructure and sector reform in Uzbekistan will contribute to increasing passenger and transit cargo traffic, growing transport sector revenues and making better use of the country’s position as a regional transit hub. In other words, international financial institutions also view Uzbekistan as a place where transport is no longer treated only as a public service, but as a lever of broader economic development, trade and tourism.
At the same time, airport projects are also being developed. According to official announcements by the Uzbek authorities and state partners, projects related to new or modernized capacities in Tashkent, Bukhara and Urgench are underway or have been prepared. In Bukhara, in March 2026, the first stage of an international tender was launched for the project of a new international airport under a public-private partnership model, while for Urgench plans for modernization and management under a similar model had previously been announced. In Tashkent, the main parameters of a new international airport are being considered in parallel, and it is expected to be part of a broader multimodal hub.
Such projects are not important only because of passenger comfort. Terminal capacity, the cost of using airports, cargo facilities, connectivity with roads and railways, and operational efficiency directly influence a carrier’s decision on whether to expand its presence in a given market. That is precisely why IATA in its message about Uzbekistan speaks not only about office expansion, but also about the need for new infrastructure to be developed in a cost-rational manner and in cooperation with airlines so that it meets the real needs of the market.
The numbers that show the direction
Official data from Uzbekistan further explain why Tashkent wants stronger international integration. According to information published by Uzbekistan Airports at the beginning of 2026, Uzbek airports served 15.5 million passengers during 2025, which is about 15 percent more than the year before. Almost 129 thousand flights were recorded, with growth in international and domestic traffic, and among the new carriers that joined operations were Air China, China Eastern, South Korean T’Way and Malaysian AirAsia.
Tashkent stands out in particular. According to operating data from the main airport, in 2025 the capital served almost 10 million passengers, further strengthening its status as the country’s main air hub. This is important for two reasons. The first is obvious: traffic growth creates pressure on infrastructure, procedures and financial systems, so the need for standardization is greater. The second is strategic: when a market reaches a level measured in millions of passengers and double-digit growth rates, it becomes more interesting to global carriers, leasing houses, logistics companies and providers of industrial services.
In its study on the value of air transport for Uzbekistan, IATA also stated that the country’s international air connectivity has increased since 2014 by 19 percent within the Asia-Pacific region and by as much as 395 percent towards other regions. This figure does not mean that Uzbekistan has already become a major intercontinental hub, but it shows a trend: the country is opening up, the network of connections is becoming broader, and international traffic is becoming increasingly important for the economy.
Safety, standards and the question of trust
In the same announcement, IATA particularly highlights alignment with global standards and best practice, while emphasizing the importance of the IATA Operational Safety Audit program, known as IOSA. This is an important message because the development of aviation does not rest only on the number of routes and passengers. Market trust is also built through the perception of safety, the quality of oversight, the consistency of procedures and the ability of domestic institutions and carriers to operate according to internationally recognized rules.
For Uzbekistan, which wants to attract additional international routes and increase transit traffic, this element is crucial. Airlines assess not only how large a market is, but also how operationally reliable it is. In that sense, the local IATA office can have greater weight than the word office itself suggests. It becomes a contact point for industry alignment, the transfer of practice and constant communication between the global organization and domestic actors, from regulators to airport operators.
In addition, Uzbekistan has in recent years been trying to expand the cargo dimension of the aviation sector as well. IATA states that 66,600 tonnes of air cargo passed through Uzbek airports in 2023, with expectations of further growth thanks to a dedicated cargo terminal in Tashkent and the development of a cargo airport in Navoi. In a country that wants to strengthen its logistics role between the major markets of Europe and Asia, cargo traffic is not a secondary branch, but one of the main arguments for investing in infrastructure and systems of international standard.
Energy transition and the long-term calculation
It is interesting that in its announcement about Uzbekistan, IATA does not remain only with traffic and ticket sales, but also opens the issue of sustainable aviation fuel, SAF. The organization estimates that Uzbekistan has the potential to develop such solutions by relying on experience in gas-to-liquids technologies, provided that production is aligned with international standards and criteria of environmental credibility. In this way, the discussion about aviation in Uzbekistan expands from the classic topic of passenger growth to the question of industrial policy, energy security and a possible export product.
This is especially important in a period in which the aviation sector globally is seeking a balance between growth and decarbonization. For emerging states, this opens a double opportunity, but also a double pressure. On the one hand, they want to increase the number of flights, investments and passengers. On the other hand, they must think about how they will fit into future market rules, especially on routes towards Europe and other jurisdictions that are gradually tightening climate requirements. In that regard, the arrival of IATA in Tashkent can also be read as an attempt to involve Uzbekistan earlier in conversations that will soon be just as important as building terminals.
What follows by the end of 2026
The most important practical question after the announcement is how quickly the announced changes will become visible on the market. If BSP is indeed launched by the end of 2026, as announced, Uzbekistan will get an important piece of financial infrastructure that can facilitate the sale and international distribution of airline tickets. If traffic growth and the progress of infrastructure projects continue at the same time, the country could further strengthen its position as the most dynamic aviation market in the region.
But rapid growth alone is not enough. For the ambition of a regional hub to turn into a sustainable model, Uzbekistan will have to maintain a balance between investments, prices, regulatory quality and the real needs of carriers and passengers. It is precisely at that point that it will be possible to assess how much the opening of the IATA office in Tashkent is more than a symbolic gesture. For now, at least one thing is clear: the global industry no longer views the Uzbek market in passing, but as a space where decisions important for the future map of air traffic in Central Asia are already being made.
Sources:- Mirage News / IATA – announcement on the opening of the IATA office in Tashkent and the preparation of BSP in Uzbekistan (link)- IATA – description of the Billing and Settlement Plan system and its role in relations between airlines and travel agencies (link)- IATA – study on the value of air transport for Uzbekistan, including data on jobs, GDP and connectivity (link)- UZA / Uzbekistan Airports – official data on the number of passengers and flights at Uzbek airports during 2025 (link)- World Bank – announcement on the modernization of transport infrastructure and sector reforms in Uzbekistan (link)- Government of Uzbekistan – official announcement on the launch of the international tender for the project of a new international airport in Bukhara (link)- Ministry of Transport of Uzbekistan – official announcement on the project for modernization and management of Urgench International Airport under the PPP model (link)- President of Uzbekistan – overview of the parameters of the new international airport project in Tashkent (link)
Find accommodation nearby
Creation time: 2 hours ago