Baku Heydar Aliyev International Airport (GYD) Statistics

Situated in Baku, Azerbaijan, Heydar Aliyev International Airport (GYD) is the country’s main air gateway and largest airport, serving more than 7.64 million passengers in 2025. Since Terminal 1 opened in 2014, GYD has grown into a major regional hub with an annual capacity of 9 million passengers, 75 international destinations, and an expanding role in Europe–Asia transit traffic.

Heydar Aliyev International Airport served more than 7.64 million passengers in 2025, its latest full-year result.

• After Terminal 1 opened in 2014, passenger traffic grew through the second half of the decade, reaching 3.26 million passengers by 2016.
• Traffic rose to 4.43 million passengers in 2018, then reached a pre-pandemic high of 4.73 million in 2019.
• The post-pandemic recovery moved from 4.38 million passengers in 2022 to 5.76 million in 2023 and 7.53 million in 2024.
• The 2025 total placed the airport at roughly 85% of its 9 million annual passenger capacity.

What is the total number of aircraft operations at Heydar Aliyev International Airport?

The airport handled 59,237 total flights in 2024, the latest full-year operations total in the comparable series.

• Total flights increased from 35,501 in 2022 to 48,963 in 2023.
• Aircraft activity reached 59,237 flights in 2024, supported by stronger passenger demand and a broader route network.
• The first half of 2025 recorded 27,091 flights.
• The airport’s international network reached 75 destinations in 2025.

What are the busiest routes from Heydar Aliyev International Airport?

The Baku–Nakhchivan route carried 735,000 passengers in 2025, while the strongest published international destination grouping exceeded 2.54 million passengers during the first 9 months of 2024.

• Domestic demand is concentrated on Baku–Nakhchivan, which carried 728,000 passengers in 2024 and 735,000 in 2025.
• The Baku–Nakhchivan route operated 7,261 flights in 2025.
• Istanbul, Moscow, Tbilisi, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Delhi together handled more than 2.54 million passengers during the first 9 months of 2024.
• For 2025, the most popular international destinations included Istanbul, Tbilisi, Dubai, Ankara, and Moscow.

Note: International destination figures are reported as combined destination-group totals, not city-level passenger counts.

Peak Travel Months at Heydar Aliyev International Airport

August 2025 was the busiest August in the airport’s history, with nearly 840,000 passengers and 8,238 flights.

• July 2024 brought more than 815,000 passengers and 6,171 flights.
• The first half of 2025 recorded 3.45 million passengers and 27,091 flights.
• August 2025 became the strongest published monthly result, supported by summer demand and increased transit traffic.
• Istanbul, Antalya, Izmir, Dubai, and Tbilisi were among the most popular destinations during the summer 2025 season.

Major Expansion Projects at Heydar Aliyev International Airport

The GYD Master Plan 2025–2045 includes capacity expansion from 9 million to 20 million passengers and the future launch of Terminal 3.

• Terminal 2 resumed international operations in June 2023.
• Runway 17/35 was reconstructed in 2024, alongside 4,332 meters of taxiway and internal-road construction or renovation.
• The Alat Free Economic Zone (FEZ) cargo airport project is scheduled for commissioning in 2026.
• Rapid Recovery System technology was added in 2025, strengthening aircraft recovery and ground-handling resilience.

Notable Incidents at Heydar Aliyev International Airport

The most recent serious accident record tied to a GYD-origin flight is Azerbaijan Airlines Flight J2-8243, which crashed near Aktau on December 25, 2024, with 38 fatalities and 29 injured survivors.

• The aircraft was operating a passenger flight from Baku to Grozny.
• There were 62 passengers and 5 crew members on board.
• The investigation remains ongoing following the interim statement issued on the anniversary of the accident.
• Final-cause wording should follow the completed accident report once it is released.

Note: The section uses accident-investigation wording and does not assign a final cause before the final report.