en.Wedoany.com Reported - Azerbaijan's airspace has seen a fourfold increase in overflight traffic over the past five years, emerging as a vital alternative air corridor for airlines avoiding conflict zones in Eastern Europe and the Middle East. According to Farhan Guliyev, Director of the country's air navigation service provider Azeraeronavigation Air Traffic Department (AZANS), speaking at the Civil Air Navigation Services Organization's Airspace World conference in Lisbon, the nation's geographical position—bordering Russia to the north and Iran to the south—has enhanced its value as a Eurasian air passage.
Before Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in early 2022, AZANS handled an average of 278 flights per day. Following the closure of Ukraine's Flight Information Region (FIR), the daily average rose to 695 flights by the end of 2025. This year, heightened tensions in the Middle East have led more flights to reroute, pushing the daily overflight average to 810 in March. On May 9, the single-day peak reached 1,062 flights, and since the onset of the conflict, over 60 airlines have used Azerbaijani airspace for the first time. Annually, AZANS processed just 47,065 overflights in 2021, a figure that surged to 261,085 in 2025.
Guliyev noted that the closure of Ukrainian airspace and parts of Russian airspace, sanctions forcing airlines to bypass Russia, and shifting dynamics in the Middle East have required rapid responses from air traffic control. As air traffic diverts across Eurasia, Azerbaijan's FIR has become a critical alternative corridor. In response, AZANS activated contingency plans, collaborating with stakeholders including neighboring air navigation service providers (ANSPs), airlines, and military authorities. Capacity has been enhanced through adjustments to airspace design, the addition of airspace sectors, and investments in airspace management systems.
The surge in overflights has significantly boosted AZANS's revenue, but Guliyev views this more as a byproduct of challenging times. He stated that the authority recognizes its responsibility in ensuring global connectivity and is fully committed to fulfilling this mission. AZANS continues to invest in capacity expansion to handle growing traffic while maintaining structural flexibility to scale down if demand decreases. Guliyev particularly emphasized that the new routes developed by the agency—connecting China, Central Asia, India, and Europe—are "very beneficial for airlines," and predicted that the corridor's strategic importance will become even more pronounced as east-west air traffic demand rises.
Guliyev also suggested that further capacity improvements in Azerbaijan's FIR are possible through the introduction of air traffic flow management in cooperation with countries along the route. This topic is already under discussion, and if implemented effectively, the hourly flight handling capacity could increase from the current 250 to 300 flights.
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