Airplane for the President. Why did Rahmon buy a Boeing 787 Dreamliner? (VIDEO)

The government of Tajikistan has purchased the presidential aircraft number one, a Boeing-787 Dreamliner, which has become a symbol of corruption in Mexico. The deal amounts to 92 million dollars. In Mexico, the proceeds are intended to be spent on the construction of two modern hospitals. Meanwhile, in Tajikistan, supporters of the president loudly proclaim the advantageous acquisition, stating that the plane was sold for three times less than its original value. However, the question remains: why does the president of Tajikistan need a “Dreamliner,” and who benefited from this deal?

The government of Tajikistan has purchased the presidential aircraft number one, a Boeing-787 Dreamliner, which has become a symbol of corruption in Mexico. The deal amounts to 92 million dollars. In Mexico, the proceeds are intended to be spent on the construction of two modern hospitals. Meanwhile, in Tajikistan, supporters of the president loudly proclaim the advantageous acquisition, stating that the plane was sold for three times less than its original value. However, the question remains: why does the president of Tajikistan need a “Dreamliner,” and who benefited from this deal?

Brief history of the aircraft

The former Mexican aircraft Number One is considered practically new by aviation standards. The government of Mexico ordered it in 2012 and received it in early 2016. In total, the aircraft was actively used for less than three years and has been stored in a hangar since December 2018.

According to various sources, Mexico spent between 220 to 400 million dollars on the purchase and further outfitting of the aircraft. The reason for the sale of the plane was a series of corruption scandals surrounding former president Felipe Calderón, who ordered the aircraft. Calderón is accused in Mexico of involvement in cocaine smuggling, giving false testimony, corruption, and participation in an organized crime group. The Boeing-787 Dreamliner is tainted by a long trail of corruption linked to the scandal-ridden president.

Acquisition

Rumors about the Tajik authorities’ plans to buy a separate aircraft for Emomali Rahmon have been circulating for a long time. In 2013, when discussions about the imminent acquisition of aircraft number one arose, the president’s press service stated that the head of state, I quote, “does not consider it necessary to have such advantages for himself, believing that it is unnecessary expenditure for Tajikistan.”

And indeed, the president of Tajikistan had and has no need for a personal aircraft, as he owns an entire airline – Somon Air, whose aircraft Rahmon can rent at any moment. But no, the aging dictator wanted an expensive toy.

Feasibility of purchasing the Boeing-787 Dreamliner

The Boeing-787 Dreamliner is classified as a long-haul aircraft. It can fly over 13,500 kilometers in a single flight without landing or refueling. This is roughly equivalent to flying from Dushanbe to Rio de Janeiro in Brazil, or to Auckland in New Zealand.

According to experts, operating such aircraft over short distances, for example, less than 6-8 thousand kilometers, is extremely unprofitable and even loss-making. This is because the expensive hydraulic systems, engines, and landing gear wear out quickly. For instance, the government of Mexico spent nearly two million dollars annually just to maintain the presidential aircraft that had been in the hangar since 2018.

Now let’s consider where Rahmon usually flies. As you understand, Tajikistan is quite a small country in terms of area. Within the country, the president travels by plane only to Khujand – about 220 kilometers by air. Throughout the year, Rahmon visits this city approximately 5-6 times.

Now let’s look at how often the Tajik dictator travels abroad. Last year, he made 14 foreign visits, including: Russia – 4 times, Egypt – 2 times, China, Armenia, Iran, Pakistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan – 2 times each. His longest flight was to Beijing (China) – 4 thousand kilometers, Cairo (Egypt) and Moscow (Russia) at 3.5 and 3 thousand kilometers respectively, followed by Yerevan (Armenia) – 2100, Tehran (Iran) – 1.5 thousand, Astana (Kazakhstan) 1400, Islamabad (Pakistan) and Bishkek (Kyrgyzstan) – about 700 kilometers each, and Tashkent (Uzbekistan) – 300 kilometers.

As you can see, the dictator had only one transcontinental flight in a year – to Egypt, and that was for 3.5 thousand kilometers. By the way, he flew there on a plane rented from his own company, Somon Air. According to our calculations, in 2022, Emomali Rahmon spent 5 million dollars on the rental of the aircraft for approximately 100 flight hours, and that was considering the highest rental rate for the aircraft. At the same time, not a single penny was spent from the budget on the maintenance, scheduled, and unscheduled repairs of the planes.

Now, the maintenance of this expensive aircraft, the costs of which were deemed burdensome by the Mexican authorities, will weigh heavily on the shoulders of impoverished Tajiks. I would like to remind you that the economy of Mexico is 100 times larger than that of Tajikistan – 1.273 trillion versus 11.1 billion.

Why does Rahmon need this plane?

Ordinary Tajiks have a reasonable question: why does Emomali Rahmon need a plane at his old age?

The first option: to avoid appearing poor and deprived in front of his colleagues. After all, Rahmon recently argued to the President of Russia that Tajikistan is not a poor country. So, since he is at the expense of wealthy Tajiks, the aging dictator decided to show off a costly toy.

The second option: for security purposes. Due to rising unemployment and poverty in the country, anything could happen. Therefore, just in case, the dictator decided to buy a plane that will always be ready.

For example, if the people rebel and start storming palaces, he, along with his large family, can quickly board the plane and fly far away from the enraged populace, perhaps to China, the Emirates, or at worst, to Belarus.

The third, and more plausible option is a flying hospital. Due to his age and health issues, Rahmon is accompanied by a group of doctors. In emergency cases, for hospitalization, for example in Germany, the elderly president literally requires mobile aviation resuscitation. And the former Mexican Air Force One is equipped accordingly inside.

Time of Purchase 

Incidentally, the acquisition of the Mexican Dreamliner was known in the corridors of the government in Tajikistan as early as November of last year. At that time, when the border conflict had just ended, a document was urgently sent to parliament for approval, according to which the government took out a loan of about one hundred million dollars. The Ministry of Finance concealed why the authorities urgently needed one billion somoni. Against the backdrop of Kyrgyzstan’s accelerated arms purchases, everyone in Tajikistan thought that Rahmon’s government was also concerned about the country’s security and was acquiring modern weaponry.

But it is now clear that the president, who lost an entire company of soldiers in the September conflict, was not thinking about the security of the republic, but only about his personal interests.