Post-Event Release: Central Asia Aviation Summit #8, Tashkent 2025

The Central Asia Aviation Summit #8 (CAAS #8) was successfully held on 27 November 2025 in Tashkent, bringing together aviation leaders from across Central Asia, the Middle East, Europe and beyond.

Building on the success of previous summits in Tashkent and Astana, the event once again provided a high-level forum to discuss the current state and future development of civil aviation in the region.

Throughout the day, 200+ delegates from airlines, airports, regulators, leasing companies, OEMs, consulting firms, training providers and technology partners took part in keynote presentations and four in-depth panel discussions, focusing on connectivity, fleet and finance, distribution and customer experience, and airport infrastructure.

“Uzbekistan’s continued investment in new airport infrastructure, safety improvements and in people have played a key role in supporting a resilient and robust aviation sector. According to The Value of Air Transport Study for Uzbekistan, more than 12,400 people are directly employed in aviation, generating USD 96.5 million in economic output, equal to 0.1% of total GDP. The country’s strategic location at the crossroads between Asia, the Caucasus, and Europe positions Uzbekistan as a future east-west hub. This will drive not only greater investment in aviation but the benefits will spill over into the wider economy through tourism, trade and foreign direct investment,” said Rizwan Siddiqui, IATA Country Manager Central Asia.

Session 1 – Enhancing Connectivity: Strategies for Regional Air Traffic Development

The summit opened with welcome remarks from the organizers and a formal address by Jamoliddin Nazarov, Head of the Air Transport Department at the Ministry of Transport of the Republic of Uzbekistan, who underlined Uzbekistan’s ambition to strengthen its role as an aviation hub for East–West traffic.

Moderated by Ilya Gutlin, CEO of Aerolabs, the first session examined the strategic drivers of air traffic growth in Central Asia:

• Rizwan Siddiqui, Country Manager Central Asia, IATA, presented “Trends and Transformations in Regional Air Traffic Dynamics”, outlining demand growth, structural changes in traffic flows and the importance of regulatory alignment.
• Michael Stanton-Geddes, Director of Economics & Competition, ACI Europe, delivered a keynote on “Infrastructure Development: Financing and Strategic Partnerships”, highlighting the role of investment frameworks and competition policy in enabling airport growth.
• A joint case study, “How Can Private Investment be Effectively Utilized to Enhance Airport Infrastructure? The Almaty Case Study”, was presented by Philippe Laborie, Senior Vice President, TAV Almaty Airport, and Helena Jurado Lopez, Senior Airport Engineer & Planner, NACO Netherlands Airport Consultants. They described the long-term development of Almaty International Airport under a PPP model, including runway reconstruction, cargo and logistics expansion, and capacity planning towards 2050.
• Timur Shoumarov, Partner at Solus Insurance Brokers, spoke on “Hidden Perks – Maximizing Aviation Insurance Benefits”, demonstrating how tailored insurance solutions can support airlines and airports in risk management.
• This was followed by a keynote titled “Risk Before Insurance” from James Johnstone, Senior Vice President Aviation, Marsh Specialty, and Andy James, Marsh Aviation Advisory, who discussed risk identification, mitigation and the role of insurance within a broader resilience strategy.

A networking coffee break offered participants the opportunity to continue discussions in an informal setting.

Session 2 – Fleet Development and Aviation Financing & Leasing Trends in Central Asia

The summit then transitioned to fleet strategy and financing, moderated by Gregory Pomerantsev, Business Development Manager – CIS at HADID.

The session opened with a forward-looking presentation:

• Adilbek Umraliyev, CEO of Vietjet Qazaqstan, presented “Qazaq Air to Vietjet Qazaqstan: The Journey from Regional to LCC Begins”, sharing how the airline is evolving its business model, fleet and network to embrace the low-cost model while maintaining regional connectivity.

This was followed by the panel discussion: “Strategic Insights: Aircraft Fleet Development and Leasing Trends in the Region”, featuring:

• Basil Gygax, Sales Director Africa, Middle East & CIS, TrueNoord
• Vadims Fokins, Regional Vice President Sales, Embraer
• Vitaliy Andreev, Operational Efficiency, My Freighter
• Francesc Torre, COO, Vietjet Qazaqstan
• Maximilian Rauch, ACMI Sales Specialist, SunExpress
• Igor Vozniuk, Senior Vice President, FPG Amentum Limited
• Mehmet Can, Sales Manager, AFG Aviation Ireland Limited

Panelists discussed:

• Challenges and opportunities in fleet modernization for Central Asian carriers
• The impact of global leasing market dynamics on aircraft acquisition
• How ACMI, regional jets and narrow-bodies can support connectivity to secondary markets
• Financing and risk considerations for placing assets in emerging markets
• The growing role of cargo fleet strategies amid e-commerce growth

The discussion highlighted that access to flexible leasing structures, strong lessor–airline partnerships and balanced fleet planning are key to supporting the region’s growth ambitions.

Session 3 – Enhancing Sales Effectiveness: Optimizing Distribution Channels for Better Customer Experience

The third discussion of the day focused on distribution and airline retailing, again moderated by Ilya Gutlin.

The panel “Optimizing Distribution: Sales Channels and Enhancing Customer Experience” brought together leading voices from airline commercial teams, GDS, OTAs and metasearch:

• Gwenaele Monboisset, Senior Vice-President Airlines, Central & Eastern Europe, Amadeus
• Elena Ponomarenko, CMO, EASYBOOKING
• Yaroslav Kotyshov, Chief Commercial Officer, Aviasales
• Ozan Peneklioglu, VP of Sales & Marketing, Aviation, Technology, Turkish Technology
• Cemal Kaya, CCO, AJet

Through structured topics covering retailing myths and realities, traveller behaviour, channel economics, personalization, privacy and global lessons, the panel examined:

• How airlines can balance direct and indirect channels for the best commercial outcome
• The evolving role of OTAs and metasearch in Central Asia
• Practical approaches to NDC, dynamic offers and ancillaries
• What Central Asian travellers expect from digital booking flows today—and what will change in the next few years

The session emphasized that modern distribution is not just about technology, but about aligning product, pricing, UX and partnerships around the customer.

The session concluded with a keynote by Ozan Peneklioglu titled “Future Trends in Aviation IT: Preparing Turkish Airlines for the Next Decade”, where he outlined how technology, AI and data-driven personalization are reshaping airline commercial and operational models.

Session 4 – Aviation Infrastructure: Enhancing Civil Aviation Infrastructure in the Region

The final session of the day addressed the long-term backbone of aviation growth: airport infrastructure, moderated by Maxim Pyadushkin, Chief Editor, Central Asia+ Aero.

The panel “Enhancing Civil Aviation Infrastructure: Strategies for Airport Development and Reconstruction in the Region” featured:

• Zhasur Pulatov, Director, Tashkent International Airport
• Dmitriy Martynenko, Commercial Department Director, Air Marakanda – Samarkand International Airport
• Philippe Laborie, Senior Vice President, TAV Almaty Airport
• Helena Jurado Lopez, Sr. Airport Engineer & Planner, NACO Netherlands Airport Consultants
• Michael Stanton-Geddes, Director of Economics & Competition, ACI Europe

Panelists discussed:

• The current state of airport infrastructure in Uzbekistan and across Central Asia
• Priority needs in development and reconstruction
• The role of PPP and concession models in unlocking investment
• Managing capacity constraints in rapidly growing hubs
• Global trends in airport planning, including sustainability, non-aeronautical revenue development, digitalization and multimodal connectivity

Case studies from Tashkent, Samarkand and Almaty illustrated how different ownership and development models can successfully support regional and international connectivity.

Innovation, Networking and Regional Impact

In addition to the panel discussions, the program featured keynotes on engine technology and sustainability from Rolls-Royce, the role of small narrow-body aircraft in regional connectivity from Embraer, and a session on airline business models in Central Asia by Lufthansa Consulting.

Networking coffee breaks, lunch and an evening reception gave participants time to build new partnerships, explore commercial opportunities and discuss concrete next steps in areas such as route development, airport projects, fleet planning, risk management and digital transformation.

Conclusions

The Central Asia Aviation Summit #8 confirmed Tashkent’s position as a key meeting point for aviation stakeholders from across the region and the wider international market. It reaffirmed the strategic importance of Central Asia as an emerging aviation hub and highlighted the sector’s commitment to:

• Strengthening regional and global connectivity
• Investing in modern fleets and infrastructure
• Advancing digital and commercial capabilities
• Building resilient, well-financed and passenger-focused aviation systems

The discussions and connections made at CAAS #8 will help guide future projects, collaborations and policy decisions, supporting sustainable growth of civil aviation in Uzbekistan and the broader Central Asian region.

In addition to the rich conference program, the summit was strongly supported by a group of distinguished sponsors and partners whose expertise reflects the diversity of the aviation ecosystem. Marsh’s Aviation & Space practice brought its global experience in proactive “risk before insurance” strategies to the event, while Solus Insurance Brokers contributed its boutique, transparency-driven approach to complex (re)insurance solutions. Embraer, a leading global aerospace manufacturer, underscored the growing role of modern regional and narrow-body aircraft in Central Asia’s connectivity, and Rolls-Royce highlighted its advanced power and propulsion solutions for safe, efficient and sustainable aviation. Lufthansa Consulting reinforced the strategic dimension of the summit with insights drawn from decades of advisory work across more than 3,500 aviation projects worldwide, and Malakut Insurance Brokers showcased its position as a trusted aviation insurance specialist across the Middle East, Central Asia and Africa. Aélia Assurances added further depth on tailored aviation insurance, and Apogee Aviation Services represented the operational backbone of global trip support and flight operations. On the airline side, Turkish Airlines — operating flights to more countries than any other carrier — and Qanot Sharq, Uzbekistan’s first private airline with a growing Airbus fleet, reflected the region’s expanding route networks, while Newair Logistics emphasized the importance of reliable, partner-driven cargo and logistics solutions in supporting Central Asia’s aviation growth.

ATO COMM look forward to welcome you in 2026 events!