There are 11 airports in our country. It can be said that the airport in Baku is the busiest of them. 4 years ago, President Ilham Aliyev touched on the benefits of international airports at the conference on the implementation of the “state program for socio-economic development of regions in 2014-2018”: “Baku, Nakhchivan, Ganja, Lankaran, Gabala, Zagatala – six international airports, one Yevlakh airport was also rebuilt. Today they operate and international flights are organized. This conditions the arrival of tourists to our country and gives comfort to people. At the time, when we started these projects, some people thought that maybe we are spending money in vain, they will not be of any use. Life has shown that now flights are organized from our international airports to different parts of the world.”
Currently, only international and domestic flights are made from these airports to Baku, Ganja and Nakhchivan. There are no international flights from Zagatala at all, and some international flights have taken place at other airports for very few and short periods of time.
For example, according to the FlightRadar international flight tracking service, in April of last year, more than 1,400 international flights were made from Azerbaijan, 97 percent of which were made from Baku International Airport. The remaining seven international airports accounted for 3 percent of total flights, and there were no flights from Zagatala and Fuzuli airports. For comparison, in April, more than 1,100 international flights were made from neighboring Georgia, of which approximately 35 percent were accounted for by international airports in the region.
In addition to airports, citizens also suffer in railways. Although there are infrastructures for both modes of transport, their performance is not satisfactory. Both the time interval is long, and the prices are “outrageous”.
On the issue MP Vugar Bayramov Publika.azsaid in his statement that it is very important to actively use the airports in our country:
“In general, airports affect the development of both tourism and domestic transport as a whole. It is expected that the airports built in Karabakh and Eastern Zangezur will be used more actively. The reason is that the tourism potential of these regions is quite large. This, of course, will lead to an increase in demand at those airports. The low or no use of our other airports is more due to demand. Practically, it is important that the flight is profitable. In order to be profitable, there is a need for regular flights. Due to the lack of regular demand, some of those airports are not operating. The reason for this is undoubtedly the post-pandemic era.”
The MP pointed out that according to calculations, there will be an increase in the number of tourists in 2024:
“This will increase the demand for both airports and high-speed trains. The connection of airports with neighboring countries has a serious impact on the number of tourists coming to the country. Another reason is that tourists mainly come to Baku and then go to the regions. More active operation of airports in other regions increases the interest and demand for the region. Therefore, it is important to use vehicles more actively and actively. The increase in the number of tourists coming to the country in the coming years will create conditions for the more efficient operation of these vehicles.”
Tourism expert Aziz Shiriyev stressed that there are enough airports and railways in our country, but there is a difference in price and demand:
“This is an actual topic. No matter how much is talked about, there is no real result. However, there are solutions and things are going on. Our country has enough international airports and railways. At present, railways in Azerbaijan are running to the regions. Work is underway to increase the number of regions. Repair and construction works were going on on the Gabala-Ismayilli road, and at that time I personally went to Gabala through Agdash with my family. I arrived right on time without any delay. The only downside is that airports and train stations are located a little outside the city. This is the case all over the world so that it does not create too much traffic in the city. It would be great to have a transfer service in those areas. The presence of a transfer company supports the development of tourism. Today there are trains to Ganja, Gazakh, Agsatay. After the opening of the borders, it is expected that there will be trains to Rastov, Kharkiv and Turkey. It is even thought that there should be a train journey through Iran to Nakhchivan. Traveling by train is generally a very nice thing.”
The expert added that wherever there is an airport, there is tourism potential and tourist flow:
“As for the airports, the airports in our country meet international standards. In general, wherever there is an airport, there is tourism potential and tourism flow. As we know, airports have been built in Lachin, Fuzuli and other regions and will be built in some of them. Regions with airports should be developed. This is one of the main issues. For example, today we are trying to promote Naftala sufficiently. It would be better if tourists coming to Naftalan for health purposes automatically use Ganja airport. Therefore, it is necessary to introduce that airport to the arriving tourist. Also, it would be advisable to have a transfer service for guests arriving at the airport. Because the visiting guest will spend at least 1-2 weeks in Naftalan. This is also enough funding.
So, if this process starts, both the Ganja airport will work and we will further increase the tourism potential of Naftala. As for Nakhchivan, there are many places to visit. Tickets to our other regions should be sold at low prices so that there is demand. For example, a citizen thinks that if I fly from Baku to Dubai, Egypt, Bali, Indonesia, Malaysia, Europe, it will cost 1200 manats. But if I go from Lankaran or another international airport, I can fly for 600-700 manats. These days, the main reason for the operation of the airport in the regions is the people working in Russia. Which they work in Russia. Azerbaijanis working there come to their homes and return to Russia through that region.”
Aysel Shahmar
The article was prepared with the financial support of the Media Development Agency of the Republic of Azerbaijan (MEDIA) in the direction of “Encouraging the socio-economic development of regions”.
