AZAL, Iran Air discuss development of cooperation

Baku, October 26, AZERTAC AZAL President Jahangir Asgarov has today met with a delegation of the Iran Air led by its CEO Farzaneh Sharafbafi in Baku. The sides exchanged views on issues related to the further development of cooperation between Azerbaijan Airlines and Iran Air. Jahangir Asgarov told the delegation about the state of affairs in Azerbaijan’s civil aviation, noting the record increase in passenger traffic of the Heydar Aliyev International Airport. In the first nine months of 2018, the capital’s airport served 3.49 million passengers (10 percent more than last year). Taking into account the opening of new flights by the end of 2020, the priority task is to increase this figure up to 7 million passengers per year. According to Jahangir Asgarov, Iran borders with Azerbaijan and full assistance will be provided to the southern neighbor in increasing passenger traffic. Farzaneh Sharafbafi noted that the progress in Azerbaijan’s civil aviation made a great impression on her. She said that Iranian tourists’ interest to see Azerbaijan is constantly increasing. Farzaneh Sharafbafi expressed her hope that the negotiations held in Baku will serve as an impetus for further expansion of cooperation. The parties expressed their intention to consolidate mutual efforts to further develop and strengthen air transportation between the two countries. It should be noted that Baku-Tehran flight is one of the most popular destinations. In particular, the low-cost airline Buta Airways, which is part of AZAL, operates flights to Tehran every day, and Iran Air - twice a week.