The key facts

  • Flight USA-701 Tashkent — Karshi was diverted to an alternate airport in Samarkand
  • Visibility at Karshi airport — 300 meters, cloud ceiling — 160 meters
  • No information yet on landing and further transportation of passengers

The flight diverted to an alternate airport

An ATR-72-600 aircraft of Silk Avia airline, operating passenger flight USA-701 on the Tashkent — Karshi route, was diverted to an alternate airport in Samarkand. This was reported by the publication Kun.uz citing available data. The aircraft with registration number UK72603 was supposed to land at Karshi airport, but the crew decided to divert to an alternate airport.

The reason — weather conditions

The reason for the route change was unfavorable weather conditions at Karshi airport: freezing fog was observed there, visibility on the runway was 300 meters, and the cloud ceiling was 160 meters. Under such conditions, the crew, based on flight safety considerations, decided to change the landing point to an alternate airport — Samarkand International Airport was chosen for the aircraft.

What is known about the passengers

No information has been published yet on whether the plane landed in Samarkand and how the passengers will be transported to Karshi. The Telegram channel Tashkent SkyNews, which is also cited in the report about the flight, provided data on the aircraft and the chosen alternate airport; details of the further transportation of passengers remain unknown.