Azernews.Az

By Maharram Safarli,
Spokesman for Azerbaijan Airlines

Caspian Air Cargo Summit 2013, organized by Silk Way Airlines, is being held in Azerbaijan's capital Baku on October 29-31 with the participation of airline industry majors.

Speaking at the event, Director of Euroavia International Lars-Gunnar Comen said that the summit brought together representatives from 235 leading air cargo companies and airports from 30 countries. He also said the event will have a special focus on commercial and technical innovations in the region, current trends and new business leads for the air commerce industry, as well as prospects for cooperation between Europe and Asia.

President of Azerbaijan Airlines Jahangir Asgarov, for his part, emphasized the importance of the summit. He highlighted Azerbaijan's geographic location, saying the country, which is located between Europe and Asia, is in the center of the trans-Caucasian transport corridor, and it is crossed by many air and sea routes, highways and main lines connecting Europe with the Caucasus and Central Asia.

"Thanks to President Ilham Aliyev's attention, Azerbaijan's civil aviation is experiencing rapid development and makes its contribution to the modernization of the country's air transportation system," Asgarov said. "Azerbaijan Airlines, a giant regional airline in the region, controls flights in an area covering a total of 165,400 square kilometers. The services of the company cover a 8,000 kilometer-long air corridor."

Asgarov also said many airlines prefer to use Azerbaijan's airspace to fly from Europe to Asia and back. The air transport of Azerbaijan is one of the attractive fields in the region and AZAL has asserted itself as a reliable partner for companies interested in high quality.

"AZAL is one of the leaders in terms of the number of airliners both in the region and in CIS," he said.

According to Asgarov, in recent years Azerbaijan's main airports, located in Ganja, Nakhchivan, Lankaran and Yevlakh, have been reconstructed, and new airports have been built in Gabala and Zagatala. One of the biggest and most technically advanced cargo terminals in CIS, Baku Cargo Terminal, and a 4,000 meter-long runway have been launched at the Heydar Aliyev International Airport in Baku.

Asgarov also said an exercise and training center meeting international standards for Boeing-757, Airbus-319, Airbus-320 and Boeing-767 aircraft, the first such facility in the CIS and Eastern Europe, has been established. Moreover, a new terminal is under construction at the Heydar Aliyev International Airport. The new airport terminal is designed for about 6 million passengers a year. The total usable area of this state-of-the-art terminal is 65,000 square meters. The facility will have air bridges for simultaneous admission of 8 airliners.

Asgarov noted that Azerbaijan's national air carrier has enriched its airliner park with 50 modern aircraft over the past decade.

"Over the last period AZAL has purchased more than 30 airliners and nearly 20 helicopters," he said.

President of Silk Way Holding Zaur Akhundov said at the event that the holding comprises 23 companies operating mainly in aviation.

"The fleet of the newly established holding includes two Boeing 767-300 and three Boeing 474-400 liners," he said. "The holding has ordered two new Boeing 474-8 airliners for 2014. Generally, flights are carried out by aircraft of 18 different types. More than 4,000 highly skilled specialists work at the enterprises of the company."

Glenn Wicks, Managing Director at the Wicks Group, said that the Baku summit aims to strengthen mutual ties between cargo transporters and cargo senders, ensure the exchange of practice, as well as develop effective mechanisms for upgrading the aviation business.