Azernews.Az

By Aynur Karimova

Azerbaijan’s flag carrier AZAL and the Fund for State Support to Media Development under the President of Azerbaijan on July 29 announced the results of a contest for individual articles on the topic "Azerbaijani Aviation: Past, Present and Future."

The event was attended by Fund’s Executive Director Vugar Safarli, First Vice President of Azerbaijan Airlines Sabir Ilyasov, Director of the company for passenger transportation Eldar Hajiyev, as well as the heads of 20 leading mass media outlets in the country, along with the contestants.

Addressing the event, Eldar Hajiyev congratulated media representatives on the 140th anniversary of the Azerbaijani national press, and wished them success.

He said that Azerbaijan's civil aviation, with its rich historical tradition, has passed through a path of dynamic development over the past 20 years.

Hajiyev also noted that thanks to the attention and care of the country's leadership, Azerbaijan's air transport system has been thoroughly upgraded. The newest aircrafts are used in passenger transportation and citizens are provided with qualitative and modern services.

He further added that airports with modern infrastructures are operating in the capital city Baku and Azerbaijan's regions. Their progressive methods of operation satisfy foreign guests as well.

AZAL’s management is taking serious measures to address the shortcomings that were stressed by President Ilham Aliyev at the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers on the results of the country’s socio-economic development in the first half of 2015 and the objectives for the future, according to Hajiyev.

Vugar Safarli, in turn, informed guests about multilateral projects implemented by the Fund with an aim to enhance mutually beneficial cooperation with central and local executive bodies, to increase the professionalism of journalists, as well as to stimulate their work and enlightenment.

He also said that 31 media outlets entered a total of 50 articles to the contest and the works were evaluated by three experts. Some 16 journalists won prizes in the contest - six journalists took the first three places and 10 won consolation prizes.

The event was followed with the awarding ceremony. Gulgiz Dadashova, the deputy editor-in-chief of AzerNews newspaper, won first place, while Samira Safarova, the deputy editor-in-chief of Baki-Khabar newspaper, and Mubariz Bayramov, the correspondent of Movge newspaper, took second place. Nadir Ismayilov, the department director of Yeni Azerbaijan newspaper, Anar Miriyev,the correspondent of Palitra newspaper, and Nail Rahimzade ,the department director of Iki Sahil newspaper, were the third-place winners.

The winners of the contest were awarded diplomas and prizes.

AZAL, being a major air carrier and one of the leaders in the aviation community among CIS countries, flies to 40 destinations in 19 countries and has served more than 1.8 million people in 2014.

The Azerbaijani civil aviation industry fully meets the standards of the International Civil Aviation Organization, and AZAL is a member of the most prestigious civil aviation association – the International Air Transport Association.

AZAL received "4 Stars" from the leader in air transport research, world-famous British consulting company Skytrax in June 2015.

At the same time, the Azerbaijani national carrier was nominated for Skytrax’s “World Airline Award” in the category "World Airline that achieved most progress."

The company has one of the newest airplane fleets in the world, consisting of 25 airplanes. It is headquartered at Heydar Aliyev International Airport in Baku. Due to its favorable geographical location, Heydar Aliyev International Airport has become number one in the region for flight transfers between East and West, North and South.

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Aynur Karimova is AzerNews’ staff journalist, follow her on Twitter: @Aynur_Karimova

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