By Azernews

By Abdul Kerimkhanov

Due to its favorable geographical location, Baku Heydar Aliyev International Airport, which meets international standards, has became the number one airport in the region for transit flights between East and West, North and South.

In January-April 2019, Heydar Aliyev International Airport served 1.23 million passengers, the Airport said in a message.

A total of 1.06 million passengers were served on international flights. In the reported period, the basic air carriers of the airport, AZAL and Buta Airways, transported 511,000 and 130,500 passengers, respectively, which is 6,000 people more year-on-year.

Of the total number of international flights, AZAL accounted for 32.3 percent, Buta Airways for 12.3 percent, while the share of foreign airlines for the period amounted to 55.4 percent.

In total, the international airports of Azerbaijan served 1.45 million passengers in January-April 2019. This is a record figure among all Transcaucasian airports.

Currently, Heydar Aliyev International Airport receives direct flights of 26 passenger airlines. There are also direct flights from Ganja and Nakhchivan airports to Moscow and Istanbul, and from Gabala to Moscow.

Also, the national air carrier AZAL operates regular direct flights from Lankaran to Moscow and back.

It is planned to resume flights of flyNas, Kuwait Airways and Turkish low-cost airline Pegasus.

The terminal of the Heydar Aliyev International Airport features giant wooden cocoons designed by Turkish architecture studio Autoban. The airport has been listed among the top three unusual airports in the world, according to Hi-Tech.

In 2017 and 2018, the Heydar Aliyev International Airport was named the best airport among those of CIS countries for the level of services provided and was awarded the maximum rating of "5 Stars" according to Skytrax World Airport Awards.

In 2018, the airport set a new record for passenger traffic volume: it served a total of 4.43 million passengers. This is 9 percent higher than in 2017.

In 2019, Heydar Aliyev international airport was named the best airport with passenger traffic up to 10 million according to Sky Travel Awards.