Samarkand airport operator earns ISAGO accreditation—a first for private aviation firms in Uzbekistan

Image: Air Marakanda

Air Marakanda, the ground handling operator at Samarkand International Airport, has successfully completed the IATA Safety Audit for Ground Operations (ISAGO) and received accreditation from the International Air Transport Association (IATA).

With this milestone, Air Marakanda becomes the first private civil aviation enterprise in Uzbekistan to achieve ISAGO compliance. The certification validates the operator’s adherence to high safety and operational standards across passenger and airline services.

Designed to enhance operational safety through structured risk management and standardized procedures, ISAGO accreditation streamlines audit processes by reducing duplicate inspections from individual carriers and regulatory bodies.

In parallel, Air Marakanda secured IATA’s Enhanced GSE Recognition (AHM 900), confirming high standards in Ground Support Equipment management, maintenance, and operational safety.

“These certifications reflect two years of targeted effort to foster a robust safety culture, streamline ground operations, adopt international benchmarks, and upskill our workforce,” said Ulugbek Shamsikulov, General Director of Air Marakanda. “For our airline partners, this guarantees service reliability and operational integrity; for passengers, it offers seamless safety standards at every touchpoint.

We view this milestone not as a finish line, but as a catalyst. Our goal remains to strengthen Samarkand International Airport’s standing as one of Central Asia’s most modern, competitive aviation hubs operating to global best practices.”

Samarkand International Airport (SKD) represents Uzbekistan’s flagship Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model in aviation. Under the agreement, Air Marakanda serves as operator, overseeing ground handling and passenger terminal management.

In the first half of this year, SKD served 759,240 passengers, a year-on-year increase of 7.2%.

CentralAsia+ Aero earlier reported: Uzbekistan launches airport network-wide carbon management framework with ACI accreditation.

CentralAsia+ Aero earlier reported: US government donates aviation security equipment to Uzbekistan airports.

CentralAsia+ Aero earlier reported: Almaty Airport completes first refueling with Jet A-1 aviation fuel.