The Civil Aviation Agency has issued a permit to the Russian airline Pobeda to fly to Uzbekistan in two new directions, the agency's press service said.

The low-cost carrier will be able to operate regular flights on the routes Yekaterinburg-Samarkand-Yekaterinburg and Novosibirsk-Samarkand-Novosibirsk.

Pobeda expressed its intention to launch flights to Uzbekistan in the fall of 2020. Then the Federal Air Transport Agency granted it access to flights on 12 routes, including the two above.

In the spring, Uzbekistan Airports reported that the company was preparing to launch direct flights from Moscow to Samarkand in April. Representatives of the Aeroflot subsidiary discussed with the operator of Uzbek airports the organization of regular flights between the two countries.

Uzbekistan is the fifth foreign destination for Pobeda after Armenia, Belarus, Türkiye, and the United Arab Emirates. Vice-President of the Russian Union of Travel Industry Dmitry Gorin noted that transfer flights to the countries of Southeast Asia could be arranged through the republic.