China Eastern Airlines inaugurated nonstop passenger flights between Shanghai Pudong and Tashkent on 30 March, arriving in the Uzbek capital with 265 passengers and a traditional water-salute reception. The four-times-weekly service complements the carrier’s existing Xi’an–Tashkent rotation launched last year and cements China Eastern’s position as the leading Chinese airline in Central Asia. The route—operated with 287-seat Airbus A330s—cuts travel time between the two financial hubs to just eight hours and offers same-day connections to more than 50 domestic Chinese destinations via Pudong’s Terminal S1. Uzbek tourism officials forecast an additional 40,000 Chinese arrivals in 2026, aided by Uzbekistan’s 10-day visa-free regime for Chinese citizens introduced in January. For Chinese manufacturers, particularly textile and machinery exporters clustered in the Yangtze River Delta, the flight streamlines access to Uzbekistan’s US $12 billion construction market and the nearby Kazakh logistics hub of Khorgos. Freight forwarders note that the A330 belly-hold adds roughly 40 tonnes of weekly capacity in each direction—valuable for e-commerce and perishable shipments. Corporate travel managers should be aware that the service departs Shanghai at 22:30 on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, arriving in Tashkent at 03:30 local time (+1). Return legs leave at 05:30, allowing same-day onward travel from Shanghai to Beijing, Guangzhou and Shenzhen. Analysts view the launch as part of a broader push by Chinese carriers to lock in first-mover advantage on Central Asian routes ahead of expected competition from low-cost Kazakh and Turkish entrants once bilateral air-service agreements are renegotiated later this year.
Source: Kursiv (Uzbekistan)
