Transit air traffic through Azerbaijan quadruples

Image: AZAL press service

Over the past five years, transit flights through Azerbaijan’s airspace have increased more than fourfold. This growth is linked to the closure of Ukraine’s airspace following the Russia‑Ukraine conflict, airlines avoiding Russian airspace because of sanctions, and the escalation of the situation in the Middle East.

Azerbaijan, located between Russia and Iran, has become one of the key air corridors between Europe and Asia, said Farhan Guliyev, Director of air navigation service provider Azeraeronavigation (AZANS), in an interview with Aviation Week at the recent Airspace World event.

At the beginning of 2022, AZANS handled an average of 278 flights per day; by the end of 2025, that figure had reached 695. The Middle East crisis provided an additional boost: in March, the average daily number of transit flights rose to 810. A record was set on 9 May, when 1,062 flights passed through the country’s airspace. Since the onset of the crisis, more than 60 new airlines have started using routes via Azerbaijan.

The total number of overflights grew from 47,000 in 2021 to 261,000 in 2025.

Guliyev also highlighted the potential of new routes connecting China, Central Asia and India with Europe. In his view, further capacity increases for Azerbaijan’s FIR are possible by introducing an air traffic flow management (ATFM) system together with states along this air corridor. This would raise traffic intensity from the current 250 to 300 aircraft per hour.

CentralAsia+ Aero earlier reported: FlyOne Asia announces launch of flights to Azerbaijan.

CentralAsia+ Aero earlier reported: Azerbaijan launches new aviation international training center.