The President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoev arrived in the USA on a private plane of the Russian oligarch Alisher Usmanov. About it reports radio “Svoboda” with reference to aviation data portal Flightradar24.
According to the portal, the Airbus A340-313 code M-IABU (the same as the registration number of the aircraft Usmanov) took off from the airport of Tashkent on 18 September at 09:19 local time and 13 hours landed at the airport John F. Kennedy international airport (JFK) in new York.
According to the radio, Mirziyoev flew to new York to participate in the 72nd session of the UN General Assembly. The BBC Russian service reports that he plans to speak at the General Assembly and participate in the Uzbek-American business forum.
According to data from Flightradar24 at the time of writing, the liner code M-IABU has already left new York and headed towards Greenland.
The reasons why the President of Uzbekistan decided to use for travel to USA not a state aircraft, while private, is still unknown. It is also not clear whether Usmanov on Board.
Press Secretary Usmanov on the BBC question why the President of Uzbekistan for official visit took advantage of the private jet of a billionaire, said that they have no such information, and advised to submit a written statement.
Tashkent journalist suggested that Mirziyoev could use someone else’s plane because of security reasons.
The BBC notes that since Shavkat Mirziyoev was elected President, Alisher Usmanov frequently visited Uzbekistan. Usmanov, who, as they say, close to President of Russia Vladimir Putin, has close family ties with the Uzbek leader. Dieres, the niece of the wife of the President of Uzbekistan, is the widow of Babur, the nephew of Alisher Usmanov, who died in 2013.
Liner Alisher Usmanov is a wide – body Airbus A340-300 with the registration M-IABU. According to Airbus, the flight range of this type of aircraft – up to 13 700 km, a wing span of 60.3 meters, length – 63,69 meters, capacity – up to 440 passengers in one-class layout, the list price in 2011 was $ 238 million dollars, the plane is now already out of production, wrote Forbes.
The BBC notes that the aircraft with this tail number is considered to be one of the most expensive personal aircraft in the world and is worth 350 million dollars. The liner is called Bourkhan (it is believed that in honor of the father of Alisher Usmanov), and its registration M-IABU can be deciphered as “I, Alisher burkhanovich Usmanov,” (I, Alischer Burchanovich Usmanov).