With the oil boom and construction of the Ceyhan Pipeline, Azerbaijan has emerged from a regional backwater into a popular destination, as oil workers pour in to exploit its mineral wealth.
Long gone are the days of having to transit through Moscow to reach Baku, the capital and port of Azerbaijan, with several airlines offering direct flights from ever-increasing global destinations. With this additional traffic, Baku has become more of a regional hub and is worth considering as an arrival destination for onward travel elsewhere.
Flights to Baku to Heydar Aliyev International Airport
Emerging from the ashes of the Aeroflot carve-up with the death of the Soviet Union, the state carrier, Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL), operates an impressive route network, with direct flights to London, Paris and Milan, range of regional connections and routes to the Middle East, including Tel Aviv, Dubai and Istanbul, as well as China.
AZAL also owns Azalhelicopter, which offers connecting helicopter flights to the rigs for oil workers. With regulation, other small local operators have entered the market, and routes are also offered by Baku Airways and Turan Air. British Airways, Austrian, Lufthansa, Turkish, Aeroflot and Emirates all operate out of Baku, while there is a plethora of small regional airlines serving former Soviet states and Iran Air and Pakistan International Airlines also offer routes.
Heydar Aliyev International Airport Upgrade
The current airport terminal is in the midst of a huge upgrade, with a futuristic design by Arup, which will have a passenger capacity of three million a year when the project is completed in 2013. As Baku is in a seismic zone (the 1988 earthquake in Spitak in neighbouring Armenia killed more than 25,000 people), the innovative design includes a seismic-resistant frame. Once completed, the terminal will have eight air bridges.
Onward travel to Baku, some 25 km away can be taken by taxi (€20) or hopping on the number 16 bus.
Azerbaijani Accommodation – Hotels in Baku
As one would expect in an expanding oil economy, the range of accommodation on offer goes from cheap basic to expensive luxury. While oil is the main commercial reason for incoming travel, there are numerous tourists too, who come to visit the historic old town, and whose focus tends to be at the cheaper end of the market. No option is cheaper than Couchsurfing, the free accommodation exchange site. With more than 300 surfers registered to host in Azerbaijan, both local and expat, this can be an interesting option for a window into local life without expense.
Readers may also wish to learn more about hotels in Baku.
Paul Bradbury - Author of Hvar: An Insider's Guide to Croatia's Premier Island, and Lebanese Nuns Don't Ski
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