Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- Uzbekistan Airways received the fourth Airbus 321neo aircraft on 17 December.

The aircraft with registration number UK32105 arrived on a direct flight to Tashkent in 6 hours and 30 minutes from the city of Hamburg (Germany), where one of the Airbus factories is located.

In keeping with aviation tradition, the new aircraft was greeted with a water arch by fire engines.

Uzbekistan Airways plans to use the A321neo aircraft on long-haul and local flights. It is designed for 188 passengers. The maximum takeoff weight of the aircraft is 97 tons, the flight range is up to 6,850 km.

The acquisition of new aircraft will help the airline expand its route network and increase the volume of passenger traffic.

- The main priority for each airline, of course, is to increase its fleet. Uzbekistan Airways is also working in this direction. We have been cooperating with Airbus for a long time and support promising agreements signed for the benefit of our passengers. We have been operating aircraft of this company for more than 20 years and will continue to work on obtaining new ones in the near future. A lot has been done on the transformation program this year. It will not be an exaggeration if we say that in 2022 the number of passengers carried was a record number in the history of the airline and we achieved this goal thanks to the replenishment of the fleet with new A321neo LR, said Ilkhom Makhkamov, Chairman of the Board of Uzbekistan Airways.

It should be noted that in November of this year, another contract was signed between Uzbekistan Airways and Airbus for the purchase of 12 new aircraft of the Airbus family (including the A320NEO and A321NEO) with the condition of delivery in 2029-2030.