Azerbaijan's tourism bureau has a problem that is easier to describe than to solve. It has spent over $10 billion reconstructing Karabakh, has built three international airports on previously occupied land, and has implemented a grand plan to double its yearly tourist influx from two to five or six million. But the international flight links that would connect tourists to the parts of the country that should most appeal to them, Gabala and its mountains, Lankaran with its subtropical national parks, and northwest Azerbaijan with its historic Silk Road villages, do not, by any realistic measure, exist. This point was made clearly earlier last week when Rashad Aliyev, Deputy Chairman of the Azerbaijan Tourism Bureau, announced that discussions were underway with several airlines to launch regular flights to Gabala, and that one airline is considering turning Gabala airport into a regional hub, like Georgia's Kutaisi.

At present, Azerbaijan has ten international airports apart from the capital city of Baku, which are Ganja, Nakhchivan, Lankaran, Gabala, Zagatala, and five other newer airports located in the liberated lands, namely, Fuzuli, Zangilan, Lachin, Khojaly, and one under development close to Shusha. The figure looks impressive at first glance. But the real scenario is somewhat different. As per Flightradar24 data of July 2026, there is just one international flight route that operates from Gabala International Airport (GBB/UBBQ).

There are absolutely no regular international flights to Zagatala airport. There have been sporadic international flights to Lankaran airport, which were mostly chartered flights during certain seasons, but which could not continue economically. Regular international commercial flights are still few to the Karabakh airports of Fuzuli, Zangilan, and Lachin due to the influx of official visitors and tourists.

The Kutaisi model, which was presented by ATB's Aliyev as an example of what........

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