Centrum Air apologizes after a dispute over the Uzbek language
On 5 October a blogger was denied boarding a Samara–Tashkent flight after asking to be served in Uzbek. The airline later admitted the crew was at fault.
Uzbekistan's Centrum Air apologized to a passenger after a language dispute on its 5 October Samara–Tashkent flight.
A blogger known online as "komil_vlogs" asked a flight attendant to address him in Uzbek; a dispute followed and the captain decided not to let him board, and the aircraft departed without him.
The airline's first position
On 5 October Centrum Air initially defended the crew, saying all its flight attendants know Uzbek, Russian and English and communicate with passengers in a convenient language.
Then it admitted fault
After the incident drew wide public criticism, the airline reversed course: it acknowledged the flight attendant had been wrong, apologized, and agreed to fully cover the passenger's additional travel costs (he rerouted via Moscow).
Context
The episode became part of Uzbekistan's ongoing public debate over use of the state language in customer service. Uzbek is the country's state language; complaints that service is offered mainly in Russian periodically draw public attention.
Overall, the flight attendant was wrong, and she admitted her fault. Today we arranged a meeting with the passenger.
— Ma'murjon Mamadaliyev, First Deputy CEO of Centrum Air (UzDaily)
