Azernews.Az

By Trend

Azerbaijan Airlines held a meeting on the results of eight months of 2018 and preparation for the autumn-winter period in Baku on September 13, the press service of Azerbaijan Airlines CJSC said in a statement Sept. 13.

The meeting discussed the tasks and prospects for the near future.

It was noted that among the priorities in passenger air transportation is the opening of new destinations such as Tokyo, Delhi, Shanghai, Zhengzhou, Bangkok, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur, Amsterdam, Vienna, Rome, Amman, Karachi, Cairo, Dushanbe and other large cities from Baku.

In his speech AZAL passenger airline’s Director Jamil Manizade noted that in recent years the airline has significantly increased its performance and will continue to work in this direction.

This year AZAL proved the prestigious status of a 4-star air carrier and, was named the best regional airline in Central Asia and India according to the British agency Skytrax. Starting next year, replenishment of the airline’s fleet with the new-generation Boeing 737 MAX aircraft will expand its route network.

In turn, Director of low-cost airline Buta Airways (AZAL CJSC’s structural subdivision) Nazim Samadov said that during the first year of flights the low-cost airline was in high demand both among the local population and among foreign tourists.

Recently, the low-cost airline has launched two new flights - to Alanya and Izmir. With the replenishment of the fleet of airline – two new Embraer 190 are expected to arrive soon – the work in this direction will continue.

In his closing remarks Jahangir Asgarov, president of Azerbaijan Airlines, stressed that AZAL, Buta Airways and Silk Way Airlines show good growth dynamics and as a result of the activities of these companies, which are a hub-forming link, Heydar Aliyev International Airport became the undisputed leader of the region in passenger and cargo air transportation.

Heydar Aliyev International Airport gained international recognition this year, by receiving the maximum five-star status from Skytrax, becoming the ninth world airport with such rating.

During eight months of this year, Baku airport served 3.080 million passengers, which exceeds indicators of all other airports in the region. For comparison: during this period Tbilisi airport served 2.565 million passengers, and the total passenger traffic of Yerevan and Gyumri airports was 1.873 million people.

Heydar Aliyev International Airport is also a large cargo hub. Being a part of the Great Silk Road, it is a transit point in cargo transportation between Asia, Europe and other continents. Negotiations are currently underway to replenish the fleet of the cargo carrier Silk Way West Airlines, in particular with the new Boeing 777-F aircraft.

Jahangir Asgarov gave instructions to regularly monitor the performance of all the structural subdivisions of AZAL, train the flight crew to fly new Boeing 737 MAX and Boeing 777-F aircraft, which is an honorable and responsible task. Of course, all these tasks must meet high level of flight safety.

"I officially declare that the gates of the Heydar Aliyev International Airport are open to each airline, we are available and ready to meet any wishes,” AZAL president said. “I invite airlines of near and far abroad to fly to our beautiful Heydar Aliyev International Airport, which offers the whole range of services at the highest level."

Jahangir Asgarov noted that taking into account the opening of new flights, by the end of 2020, the passenger traffic of Heydar Aliyev International Airport should exceed 7 million passengers a year.

"This is our priority task and we must fulfill it," he said.

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