Places in this article: Samarkand · Bukhara · Khiva · Tashkent
Domestic flights in Uzbekistan: when we fly and what we arrange
In the first three months of 2026, Uzbekistan had 7,974 domestic flights and 663,554 passengers on them. For travellers, one of those routes matters more than any other: Tashkent to Urgench, about 1 hour 30 minutes in the air, which turns the trip to Khiva into a morning instead of a day.
On our routes the plane is a way to save a day where the train is long: to Khiva, to Karakalpakstan and the ,Did you know? Part of the Aral Sea is coming back In 2005 the 12-km Kokaral dike was completed to keep the Syr Darya's water in the North Aral Sea. The level rose faster than expected, the water grew less salty, and fish and fishing returned. Read more → and to Termez in the south. Here is when we put a flight into your route and why, what we take care of for you, and, at the end, a short box with the booking details if you fly on your own.
Where a flight earns its place
Almost every domestic route starts or ends in Tashkent. These are the ones on a traveller’s map, with the typical time in the air in the October 2026 schedule:
| From Tashkent to | Flight time | Why you would fly |
|---|---|---|
| Urgench | 1 h 30 min – 1 h 45 min | The airport for Khiva, about 30 km away |
| Nukus | 1 h 40 min – 1 h 55 min | The ,Did you know? A desert city keeps one of the great avant-garde collections The Savitsky Museum in Nukus holds tens of thousands of works and is often called the world’s second-largest collection of the Russian avant-garde, after the Russian Museum in St Petersburg. It also keeps Karakalpak crafts and finds from ancient Khorezm. Read more → Karakalpakstan and the Aral Sea |
| Bukhara | 1 h – 1 h 30 min | Saves a long train ride if you start in Bukhara |
| Termez | 1 h 10 min – 1 h 30 min | The Buddhist south and Surkhandarya |
| Fergana | 50 min – 1 h | The Did you know? Legend says Fergana's 'heavenly horses' sweated blood Legend says the horses of Dayuan, as Chinese chronicles called Fergana, sweated blood, and around 102 BC Emperor Wu of Han sent an army to bring some home. The 'blood' was most likely a skin parasite that causes tiny bleeding spots. Read more → without the mountain road |
| Samarkand | 50 min – 1 h | Rarely worth it: the train is just as quick |
There are flights to Andijan, Namangan, Karshi and Navoi too, and in recent years smaller airports have reopened: Did you know? Kokand's Friday mosque stands on 98 columns from India Muhammad Umar Khan built Kokand's Juma Mosque in 1812–1818. Its 100-metre iwan rests on 98 carved red-wood columns brought from India, and its minaret is 22 m tall. Inside is a small museum of applied arts. Read more → and Did you know? A music festival is held among Muynak's old fishing boats Since 2018 the Stihia festival of electronic music, art and science has gathered in Muynak, once a port on the Aral Sea, right beside the ships left on the sand. It ends by burning a 10-metre installation of the word SEA. Read more → in April 2024, Shahrisabz and Sariosiyo in 2025. Direct flights between regions without Tashkent come and go with the season. In June 2025 routes such as Samarkand–Urgench and Bukhara–Urgench opened, but do not build a plan on one until we have checked the schedule for your dates.
Urgench for Khiva
Khiva has no airport; planes land in Urgench, the capital of the Khorezm region, about 30 km away. Our driver meets you in the arrivals hall, and in about 40 minutes you are at the walls of .Did you know? People still live inside Khiva's museum city Itchan Kala packs more than 50 historic monuments and about 250 old houses inside clay walls 8–10 m high and 5–6 m thick, and families still live and work in its lanes. Read more → On our 8-day and 11-day classic Uzbekistan tours you take the morning flight to Urgench, subject to the schedule, and continue to Khiva by car. The rail alternative is the high-speed train from Tashkent to Khiva, which leaves at 07:00 and arrives at 14:31, and our favourite pattern is the train one way and the flight back: that is how Classic Uzbekistan at a Gentle Pace ends, with a flight from Urgench to Tashkent. More in Tashkent to Khiva: plane, train or car.
Nukus for Karakalpakstan and the Aral Sea
Nukus is the gateway to Karakalpakstan: the Savitsky Museum is in town, and the drive to Muynak and the former shore of the Aral Sea starts here. Our Aral Sea extension flies from Tashkent to Nukus in the morning and back in the evening of the second day, and Karakalpakstan and the Desert Fortresses of Khorezm flies to Urgench, crosses to Nukus by car with a driver and flies home from Nukus, so no day is lost on the road back.
Termez for the Buddhist south
Termez is about 1 hour 20 minutes from Tashkent by air, against about 14 hours on the overnight train. The Buddhist Silk Road: Tashkent, Termez and Samarkand flies Tashkent–Termez–Tashkent, and on The Buddhist South: Termez and Surkhandarya we plan the first day around your flight or train.
When the train is the better choice
For Samarkand and for Samarkand–Bukhara we almost always choose the train. The Uzbekistan's high-speed train: Tashkent to Samarkand in about 2 hours 10 minutes, Tashkent to Bukhara in about 4 hours. Tickets are tied to your passport. Read more → takes about 2 hours 10 minutes from Tashkent to Samarkand, with no airport security queue and no transfer from a terminal outside town; from Samarkand to Bukhara it is under 2 hours. Flying makes sense where the rail journey is long: to Urgench and Nukus in the west, to Termez in the south, and to Bukhara if you begin your route there. The full picture is in our guide to trains in Uzbekistan, and the international side in how to get to Uzbekistan.
What we take care of
On our tours we buy the domestic tickets for you, choose a fare with the right baggage and meet you at both ends, so the flight is one line in your programme. In Tashkent domestic flights leave from their own terminal, Terminal 3, about 4 km by road from the international Terminal 2. Our driver takes you to the right one 1.5 to 2 hours before departure, and if you connect from an international flight, we plan the time for the move between terminals.
Travelling without a tour? We can book single pieces: a flight from Urgench to Tashkent, the transfer from Urgench airport to Khiva, an airport transfer in Tashkent, or the CIP Lounge “Arrival” when you land in Tashkent from abroad.
Flying on your own: the short version
Four airlines carry most domestic passengers: Uzbekistan Airways, the national airline, flies to every regional capital; Silk Avia flies ATR 72-600 turboprops on shorter routes and to small airports such as Navoi, Shahrisabz, Sariosiyo and Kokand; Centrum Air flies from Tashkent to Urgench, Nukus, Samarkand and Fergana; Fly Khiva flies from Tashkent to Urgench and Termez.
From 16 October 2026 Uzbekistan Airways cut its domestic fares; the details are in our news story on cheaper domestic flights.
On Uzbekistan Airways, check-in for domestic flights opens 2 hours before departure and closes 30 minutes before, and boarding closes 20 minutes before. The ticket is issued to your passport, like a train ticket. How the airport works is in our Tashkent airport guide.
The cheapest fare is not always the cheapest trip. Since 1 April 2026 Uzbekistan Airways sells a Lite fare on domestic routes, and it includes hand baggage only. Its economy fares in October 2026:
- LITE: one cabin bag of 8 kg, no checked bag.
- SMART: 8 kg in the cabin and one checked bag of 23 kg.
- COMFORT: 8 kg in the cabin and one checked bag of 32 kg (23 kg on Uzbekistan Airways Express flights).
The cabin bag may measure up to 55 × 35 × 25 cm, and a small personal item of up to 5 kg is allowed on top. Other airlines have their own rules, and the turboprops of Silk Avia have less room in the cabin, so check the allowance printed on the booking. If you bring a carpet or ceramics home from Bukhara, a fare with a checked bag is the simpler choice.
Plan it with us
If a flight would save you a day, tell us your dates on the tailor-made tours page and we will check the schedule, book the tickets with the right baggage and add the transfers at both ends. Ready routes with a domestic flight are the 8-day classic tour, Classic Uzbekistan at a Gentle Pace and Karakalpakstan and the Desert Fortresses of Khorezm.
In short
- We fly where the train is long: Urgench for Khiva, Nukus for Karakalpakstan and the Aral Sea, Termez for the Buddhist south.
- Tashkent–Urgench takes about 1 h 30 min; Nukus about 1 h 45 min; Termez and Bukhara about 1 h 15 min.
- On our tours we buy the tickets, choose the baggage and meet you at both ends, including the domestic Terminal 3 in Tashkent.
- Flying on your own: the LITE fare has no checked bag; SMART includes 23 kg.
- Take the Afrosiyob to Samarkand and Bukhara.
