Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) carried 536,826 transit passengers in the first half of 2026. AZAL Executive Director Jamil Manizade said the number of transit passengers increased by 39 percent compared with the same period last year.
The share of transit passengers on domestic flights rose from 21 percent to 28 percent, while the figure on international services increased from 26 percent to 35 percent. Manizade said transit traffic is becoming an increasingly important part of AZAL’s network and is strengthening Baku’s position as a strategic transfer hub connecting Europe and Asia.
The strongest growth was recorded among passengers travelling from the Indian subcontinent to Russia via Baku. Passenger numbers on this route increased 8.7-fold to 50,000. The number of passengers travelling from the Indian subcontinent to Europe via Baku rose 5.4-fold to 46,700, while transit traffic from Central Asian countries to Europe increased by 129 percent to 59,200 passengers.
AZAL currently operates flights from Baku to four destinations on the Indian subcontinent. The airline serves Islamabad and Lahore in Pakistan four times a week, while flights to Delhi and Mumbai in India are operated daily. In Russia, AZAL serves Moscow, St. Petersburg and Yekaterinburg. Its European network includes Barcelona, Berlin, Frankfurt, Vienna, Chisinau, London, Milan, Paris, Prague and Riga, while Heraklion and Tivat are served seasonally.
AZAL had previously announced that it carried a total of 1.9 million passengers during the first six months of 2026, including 276,000 transit passengers. No explanation was provided for the discrepancy between the previously announced figure and the 536,826 transit passengers reported by Manizade.
