Silk Avia

Is Silk Avia safe?

Probably, but the evidence is thin. Uzbekistan's domestic turboprop airline has had no accident since it began flying in April 2023, and its main aircraft, the ATR 72-600, is a young, current design. 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, and no Uzbek airline is on the EU blacklist. Against that, the record is only three and a half years long, Silk Avia has no 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, and one landing in 2024 ended in a tail strikeTail strikeWhen the tail of an aircraft touches the runway during take-off or landing, usually because the nose was raised too far or too early.More in the glossary that investigators classed as a serious incident. We score it 74, level with Uzbekistan Airways (74), whose tickets it shares. Our confidence is low.

Who actually flies Silk Avia?

The ownership has moved around. Silk Avia was set up in July 2021 on a government initiative, with Uzbekistan Airports buying the first three ATRs. In October 2023 a presidential decision moved its shares to Uzbekistan Helicopters, a subsidiary of Uzbekistan Airways. France's BEA lists Uzbekistan Helicopters as the operator of the ATR in the 2024 Navoi incident, and the FAA's list of airline designators gives that company the ICAO code USA with the call sign SILK, so the flights run on its certificate. Uzbekistan Airways sells the tickets, and its chairman called Silk Avia part of the Uzbekistan Airways group in January 2026. He also said the group was studying a merger of Silk Avia with Uzbekistan Airways Express, its low-fare brand.

What matters for passengers is that Silk Avia flights carry their own flight numbers, such as US751 to Termez, not Uzbekistan Airways' HY. Its record is its own. Uzbekistan Helicopters also flies Airbus H125 and H130 helicopters on the same certificate, for sightseeing and government work, and its helicopter website presents Silk Avia as its airline brand. Under our rules, helicopter accidents on that certificate would count on this page too. We found none reported since 2023.

Young ATRs and small L-410s

The airline started in 2023 with three used ATR 72-600s flown in from Bangkok, and took its first factory-new ATR from Toulouse in February 2024. In January 2026 the Uzbekistan Airways chairman said Silk Avia had five ATR 72s. For the shortest routes it also flies four Let L-410s, 19-seat turboprops designed for short and rough runways; the fourth arrived in April 2025.

There is a weak point. In late 2025 two of the five ATRs were parked for about two months while their engines went to France for repair, and the airline cut flights to several cities in September and October 2025, citing technical reasons. Taking aircraft out of service for maintenance is the right call, but a fleet this small has little spare capacity. The fleet scores 74.

The Navoi tail strike and other events

On 1 July 2024 an ATR 72 registered UK72604, flying from Tashkent to Navoi, touched its rear fuselage on the runway on landing. No one was hurt and the damage was minor, but the event was classified as a serious incident and notified to France's BEA, which represents the aircraft's manufacturer. We found no published report on the cause.

On 22 January 2026 an ATR on flight US751 to Termez turned back to Tashkent because heavy snow had cut runway braking at Termez to a friction coefficient of 0.29. That was a sound decision and does not count against the airline. Uzbekistan's investigators publish little, so a short list may not be complete. Serious incidents score 62.

Where it flies

Silk Avia connects Tashkent with every region of Uzbekistan, including Nukus, Urgench, Bukhara, Samarkand, Fergana and Termez, and flies to small airports most airlines skip: Muynak near the old Aral Sea shore, the mountain resorts of Zaamin and Sariosiyo, and Shahrisabz. Abroad it flies to Issyk-Kul in Kyrgyzstan and Turkistan in Kazakhstan. There are no flights into Russia. Termez lies on the Afghan border, and EASA's bulletin for the Afghan airspace next door runs to 30 April 2027. Mountain weather and winter snow at small airports are the main hazards. The environment scores 62.

How to fly Silk Avia sensibly

• In winter, keep your plans loose for Termez and the mountain airports. Returns and cancellations in snow are a sign the crews are doing their job.
• Check your flight a day ahead. With only five ATRs, one aircraft out of service can cancel flights on several routes.
• For Tashkent–Samarkand or Tashkent–Bukhara, the high-speed train is a good alternative. It runs often and is not affected by fog or snow at small airports.

How we scored it

The accident record (80) is clean but very short. Oversight (75) rests on Uzbekistan's 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 rating, without 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. The fleet (74) is young ATRs plus small L-410s, incidents (62) include the 2024 tail strikeTail strikeWhen the tail of an aircraft touches the runway during take-off or landing, usually because the nose was raised too far or too early.More in the glossary, and the environment (62) reflects small airports, mountains and the Afghan border. Overall 74.