I went on a part holiday, part work trip to Central Asia in August 2025. I've already been to all five Central Asian countries but this time I wanted to go to some places I hadn't been before: Dushanbe amd Khorog in Tajikistan, Astana in Kazakhstan and Khiva in Uzbekistan. The obvious choice to fly from Europe to Central Asia is Turkish Airlines. I live in Iceland but Turkish does not fly there. The cheapest business class from Europe to Dushanbe was from Budapest, so I first booked a Wizz flight from Iceland to Budapest.
Here's my full itinerary:
Keflavík to Budapest, Wizz, economy – no flight report
Budapest to Istanbul, Turkish Airlines, business
Istanbul to Dushanbe, Turkish Airlines, business
Khorog to Dushanbe, Tajik Air, economy
Dushanbe to Astana, Somon Air, economy
Astana to Tashkent, Uzbekistan Airways, business – you’re here
Tashkent to Khiva, Uzbekistan Airways, economy
Khiva to Tashkent, Uzbekistan Airways, economy
Tashkent to Istanbul, Turkish Airlines, business
Istanbul to Warsaw, Turkish Airlines, business
Warsaw to Keflavík, Wizz, economy
The temperature was 33 degrees when I arrived to the airport.
Check-in was very quick at the business class desk.
Astana is a busy airport with 32 flights in less than four hours.
Everything seemed to be easy then disaster struck. All passport controls were closed for about an hour, and hundreds of passengers, worried about missing their plane, were queuing behind, and no explanation was given.
There was no separate lane at passport control or security for business class passengers.
First, I tried this Air Astana lounge for my Uzbekistan Airways flight, but I was denied.
I was directed to the other end of the terminal but the lounge there was being renovated. OK, but the check-in agent should have been aware of it…
I went to URBO Coffee next to the lounge that was closed. There was free wi-fi and I bought a coffee.
There’s a restaurant area upstairs but most passengers don’t notice it and don’t go up.
The waiting area on the main floor is spacious.
The duty-free shop doesn’t attract a lot of people.
My plane for this flight is in the background: an Uzbekistan Airways A320, registration number UK32040, built in 2019.
Boarding started at 18.30.
The plane has a proper business class cabin with a configuration of 2+2 in two rows. Load was 6/8.
This is row 1:
I was first in row 12A. Legroom was excellent.
Slippers were offered.
There was a printed airline magazine.
An expected flight time of one hour and 40 minutes was announced.
Push-back was at 19.01 for a scheduled departure time of 18.40. We took off at 19.13.
Later I moved to seat 11A in the first row. Legroom was very good here as well.
A welcome drink was offered.
The view after take-off.
An oversized wet towel was offered before the meal service.
A huge and good quality meal was offered in business class for this short flight: two warm pies, peanuts, some nut pastry and grapes.
Some cheese, almonds and sweets were offered after the meal.
The cabin crew was welcoming, friendly and efficient during the entire flight.
The rest of the flight went uneventful.
We landed at 20.48 and were at our parking position at 20.55 for a scheduled arrival time of 20.25.
Arrival transfer was by bus. We business class passengers were bussed to the terminal by a small minibus marked as CIP. Not a luxury bus, but nevertheless very appreciable as it allowed a much faster arrival experience, basically a small separate terminal for with its own passport and customs control.
I had a full day in Tashkent the day after. The absolute highlight for me was the Chorsu market. Central Asia has certainly some of the most beautiful fruits and vegetables in the world, and the bread is also excellent.
The Tashkent metro.
It has its own typical style of decoration .
Some interesting street art in the Old Town.
A new, huge building called Islamic Civilization Centre was completed alongside an entire neighbourhood. Despite being late evening, hundreds workers were working actively like they wanted to finish centuries’ worth of work in one day.
Uzbekistan has a Sunni Muslim majority, but about half of the people almost never go to a mosque or follow most Islamic principles, and generally speaking, Uzbekistan is a very tolerant, secular republic.
Sunset in Tashkent’s Old Town.
