The aviation sector in Tajikistan isstruggling today under a very restrictive air transportpolicy. Together with it, the whole economy of the countryis being deprived from the derived benefits of betterconnectivity, such as trade, travel, and technologytransfer. While maintaining safety as the highest singlepriority, the Government recognizes that the air transportpolicy should allow for a liberalization of the markets,allowing better connectivity with more efficient services atlower prices. The only possible way to ensure theimplementation of a liberalized policy, an appropriateinstitutional framework needs to be in place, allowing forthe complete separation between the policy maker, thetechnical regulator and the operation. The airline, theairport, and the air traffic control will be separated inorder to assure truly competition. Currently, all operationsactivities are concentrated at Tajikistan State Airlines(TSA). TSA is today an inefficient company that providespoor service to its customers at prices that are high andprovide an involuntary price umbrella for the competition.Its present existence was granted by a protectiveenvironment, where a concentrated institutional frameworkallowed regulation to be tinted by policy motivations.Instead of promoting transparency in accounting andefficiency in operations, there have been initiatives togrant further loans that would end up fueling costs andinefficiencies, while not achieving any of the promisedresults. At bottom, all these inefficiencies are paid by themigrant worker community that travels to Russia at unjustair fares, representing a substantial part of theirearnings. A new policy that would liberalize the sector willpromote efficiency and lower the costs of travel, relievingthe tax on a huge mass of people, which is crucial to theeconomy of Tajikistan.
PDF
download
878987797
028-85220240
