Baku Heydar Aliyev International Airport served 2.464 million passengers in the first half of 2023. This was reported by the airport. The report says this is about 50 per cent more than in the same period of 2022. Note that 1.236 million or 49.8% of passengers served in January-June were customers of foreign airlines, while 1.228 million or 50.2% were customers of Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL). About ¼, or 300.000 passengers carried by AZAL flew from Baku to Nakhchivan and back. By the way, by the number of flights from the capital's airport the Autonomous Republic is the leader. Next are Istanbul (Turkey), Tbilisi (Georgia), Moscow (Russia) and Dubai (UAE). In the reviewed period, 57 foreign airlines operated regular flights to Heydar Aliyev International Airport. At that, Turkish Airlines (Turkey), Utair, Aeroflot (Russia), FlyDubai (UAE) and WizzAir (Hungary) carried the most passengers. Azerbaijan's air transportation sector witnessed substantial revenue growth in 2022, reaching a total of 4 billion 904 million 809.7 thousand manats (equivalent to $2.9 billion at the current exchange rate). This figure represents an impressive 51.4% increase compared to the previous year. The revenue breakdown reveals that cargo transportation played a significant role, generating 3 billion 642 million 937.9 thousand manats (approximately $2.14 billion) in revenue, a notable 12.4% rise from the previous year. The bulk of these earnings came from international cargo transportation, accounting for 3 billion 642 million 10.3 thousand manats, indicating a parallel increase of 12.4%. Domestic cargo transportation also experienced a remarkable surge, contributing 927.6 thousand manats and witnessing a remarkable 69% growth. Passenger transportation also showed impressive gains, registering revenues of 1 billion 261 million 871.8 thousand manats (about $742.3 million), a remarkable 98.7% increase compared to the previous year. Among passenger revenues, international transportation accounted for the lion's share, totaling 1 billion 199 million 504.9 thousand manats, exhibiting a significant 98.9% surge. Meanwhile, domestic passenger transportation also saw a substantial rise, bringing in 62 million 366.9 thousand manats and experiencing a notable 94.4% increase. Despite the overall surge in revenues, there was a decline in the volume of cargo transportation by air, amounting to 406.8 thousand tons, representing a decrease of 27% from the previous year. On the other hand, passenger transportation experienced a significant upswing, with 2 million 253.8 thousand people traveling by air, marking an impressive 2-fold increase. Looking back at 2021, Azerbaijan's air transportation revenues amounted to 3 billion 240 million 291.2 thousand manats, indicating a 20.4% growth from 2020. Passenger transportation revenues also witnessed remarkable growth in 2021, amounting to 635 million 109.8 thousand manats, experiencing an impressive 85% increase. Overall, the aviation sector in Azerbaijan has demonstrated robust growth in 2022, bolstered by increased cargo and passenger revenues, underlining its potential for further expansion in the coming years.

Source: Turan News Agency