Qanot Sharq

Is Qanot Sharq safe?

Yes, on the evidence available, though there is not much of it. Qanot Sharq has flown passengers since August 2021 without an accident, its fleet is all Airbus and getting newer, and Uzbekistan holds the FAA's Category 1FAA IASAThe US FAA's check of whether a country's aviation regulator meets ICAO standards. Category 1 means it does; Category 2 means it does not.More in the glossary rating. We score it 77, a little above Uzbekistan Airways (74), mainly because it has no older accidents counting against it. It loses points for a five-year record, no confirmed IOSAIOSAThe IATA Operational Safety Audit, an international audit of an airline's safety management and operations. Every IATA member must pass it.More in the glossary audit, two A320s that are about 20 years old and a network that reaches into Russia and the Gulf. Our confidence is low: Uzbekistan's investigators publish very little.

A new airline with an old name

Qanot Sharq ("East Wing" in Uzbek) was set up in 1998 as the country's first private airline and flew cargo with an Ilyushin Il-76 leased from Uzbekistan Airways. It stopped in 2012 and gave back its operating certificate. Its founder revived it during the pandemic: two used A320s arrived from Air Lease in spring 2021, the Uzbek authority issued a new certificate on 7 July 2021, and the first passenger flight went from Tashkent to Samarkand on 16 August 2021. For safety purposes this is a five-year-old airline, not a 28-year-old one.

It flies under its own codes, HH and QNT, with the radio call sign SHARQ.

What does it fly?

Seven Airbus jets, according to its website in October 2026:

The two A320s are the oldest. One first flew for Air Berlin from 2005 and the other for LTU from 2007, before both went to Interjet in Mexico. The A321XLR, the longest-range single-aisle jet in service, is the first of four leased from Air Lease, and Qanot Sharq uses it to fly to London, which it started on 15 December 2025. As the remaining XLRs arrive, the share of new jets will rise from three in seven. For now the fleet scores 66.

Has anything gone wrong?

The only serious event we found was on 26 August 2024. An A320 flying HH572 from Istanbul to Samarkand with 170 people on board lost cabin pressure at 33,000 feet about 70 nautical miles northwest of Ankara. The crew made an emergency descent and diverted to the military airport at Merzifon, where the aircraft landed without injuries. The airline put it down to a technical fault and sent a replacement aircraft.

That is a short list for five years of flying, but Uzbekistan publishes so few investigation reports that a quiet record is not a proven clean one. In May 2026 the country's consumer-protection committee asked about ticket sales at Qanot Sharq and Centrum Air, but that concerned overbooking, not safety. Serious incidents score 72.

Who checks the airline?

Uzbekistan's Civil Aviation Agency. The FAA put Uzbekistan in Category 1FAA IASAThe US FAA's check of whether a country's aviation regulator meets ICAO standards. Category 1 means it does; Category 2 means it does not.More in the glossary on its April 2025 list, and no Uzbek airline is on the EU Air Safety ListEU Air Safety ListThe European Commission's list of airlines banned or restricted from flying in EU airspace because they do not meet international safety standards.More in the glossary of June 2026. To fly to London, Frankfurt, Prague and Milan, Qanot Sharq also needs permits from the UK and from EASA for foreign operators. What it lacks is IOSAIOSAThe IATA Operational Safety Audit, an international audit of an airline's safety management and operations. Every IATA member must pass it.More in the glossary: it is not an IATA member and we found no IOSA registration. That keeps oversight at 75, below Uzbekistan Airways (80), which has the audit.

Where it flies

The network is wide for a small airline: Europe (London, Frankfurt, Prague, Milan), Turkey, China, South Korea, South-East Asia, Egypt and Saudi Arabia, plus Moscow and St Petersburg. Most of these are large, well-equipped airports. The Russian routes fall under EASA's bulletin for Russian airspace, valid to January 2027, which warns of drone attacks closing airports and of GNSS jamming. Jeddah, Medina and Dubai lie in airspace covered by EASA bulletins in 2026, and flights to Tel Aviv were suspended and only resumed on 24 June 2026. The environment scores 58.

Practical advice

• On the London route, you get the newest aircraft. The A321XLR has a business cabin with flat beds; ask which aircraft serves other routes before booking.
• Leave slack on Moscow and St Petersburg flights. Airport closures for drone alerts can hold flights for hours.
• Do not plan around New York yet. The JFK service was postponed several times in 2026; confirm it is flying before you book connections.

How we scored it

The accident record (88) is the strongest factor: no accident since the 2021 restart, but only five years of flying. Oversight (75) reflects FAA Category 1FAA IASAThe US FAA's check of whether a country's aviation regulator meets ICAO standards. Category 1 means it does; Category 2 means it does not.More in the glossary without a confirmed IOSAIOSAThe IATA Operational Safety Audit, an international audit of an airline's safety management and operations. Every IATA member must pass it.More in the glossary audit. Incidents (72) are scored as a thin record, and the fleet (66) is held back by two older A320s. The environment (58), with Russian and Gulf routes, is the weakest. Overall 77.