Eznis Airways relaunches operations as air travel increases

Eznis Airways, the previously defunct airline company, announced that it restarted its operations with domestic flights to Khovd, Ulgii, Ulaangom, Dalanzadgad, and Murun with its Q400 plane.

The company’s reentry into the aviation sector comes at a time when air travel has been increasing. According to the National Statistics Office, as of May 2018, domestic airline passengers totaled 134,000, a 23.5 percent increase compared to the same period in 2017. Meanwhile, international passengers increased to 193,000, a 25.8 percent increase compared to the same period last year. Revenue in the aviation sector surged 3.4 percent to become 119.4 billion MNT.

Eznis Airways said it will conduct year-round regular flights to Khovd, Ulgii, and Ulaangom, while its flights to Dalanzadgad and Murun will be seasonal.

In 2014, Eznis officially halted its operations due to financial difficulties. Eznis Airways LLC was established in December 2006, with an investment from Newcom Group, and launched the first flight in the country between Ulaanbaatar and Choibalsan soum in Dornod Province.

It conducted regular and ordered flights along six routes from Ulaanbaatar to five provinces including Dornod, Khuvsgul, Umnugovi, Uvs and Bayan-Ulgii, as well as one international flight to Hailar District in Inner Mongolia.

While there is growth in the aviation sector, certain obstacles have persisted. As expressed to Parliament by South Korea Ambassador Jeong Jae Nam, the limited number of flights and the cost of flights to Mongolia is the biggest obstacle for tourism.

“Around 70,000 tourists come from South Korea to visit Mongolia. I am confident that number will reach the hundreds of thousands, but the number of flights is limited and the cost of flights is too high,” said Ambassador Nam.

Cabinet recently announced that it will propose privatizing 49 percent of MIAT Mongolia Airlines, national flag carrier of Mongolia. In addition, the aviation sector is being planned to be more liberalized in an effort to increase competition, lower prices, improve services, and foster market growth.