Heydar Aliyev International Airport (GYD) handled 5,747 aircraft movements in March 2026, up 2.2% on March 2025, according to the latest Air Traffic Statistics Report published by ASEC (Airspace Supervision & Efficiency Center) and AzerAeronavigation. Across the full Baku Flight Information Region (FIR), aircraft movements grew far faster — up 12.6% year on year.
March 2026 — headline numbers
- GYD aircraft movements: 5,747 (+2.2% vs March 2025)
- Daily average at GYD: 185 movements per day
- Peak day at GYD: 28 March 2026 — 229 movements
- Quietest day: 2 March 2026 — 146 movements
- Q1 2026 total at GYD: 17,204 movements (+5.3% vs Q1 2025)
Baku FIR — overflight boom
The wider Baku FIR — which covers all controlled airspace over Azerbaijan — recorded 30,767 IFR movements in March 2026, up 12.6% year on year. Of these, 81% were overflights (24,864 movements) and only 19% were aerodrome arrivals/departures (5,903). The peak overflight day was 28 March with 1,065 aircraft transiting; the low day was 2 March with 882.
Q1 2026 Baku FIR total: 85,760 IFR movements, up 7.7% on Q1 2025 — confirming Azerbaijan’s growing role as a strategic overflight corridor between Europe, Türkiye, the Gulf, and Central Asia.
Top 10 airspace users at GYD (March 2026)
- Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) — 2,744 movements
- Silk Way West Airlines — 672 (cargo)
- Turkish Airlines — 305
- Cargolux — 272 (cargo)
- Flynas — 212 (low-cost)
- AnadoluJet — 154 (low-cost)
- Aeroflot — 130
- Pegasus Airlines — 114 (low-cost)
- Atlas Air — 112 (cargo)
- Utair — 104
Carrier mix and flight types
- National carriers (AZAL group): 61%
- International airlines: 39%
- International flights: 89%
- Domestic flights: 11%
- Passenger flights: 74% of all movements
- Cargo flights: 22%
- Business aviation: 3%
- Other: 1%
Low-cost share is growing
Low-cost carriers operated 14% of all passenger flights at GYD in March 2026 (classic carriers 86%). The low-cost group is dominated by Gulf-based operators flydubai, Air Arabia, Air Arabia Abu Dhabi, Jazeera Airways, SalamAir, and Wizz Air Abu Dhabi, plus Flynas, Flyadeal and Fly Arystan from Saudi Arabia and Kazakhstan, and the Turkish low-cost duo Pegasus Airlines and AnadoluJet. The 14% share is up from previous quarters, reflecting Wizz Air’s continued expansion from its Abu Dhabi base and the launch of new Pakistan and Balkans routes.
Runway and traffic flow patterns
For the entirety of March 2026, all 5,737 IFR movements at GYD used Runway 17/35 (the 3,200 m runway) — Runway 16/34 (the 4,000 m runway) recorded zero movements during the month, suggesting it was closed for scheduled maintenance or construction. This is a notable operational detail and may explain modest delay patterns reported by passengers in March.
On the airspace flow side, RASAM dominated as the most-used Standard Instrument Departure point (47% of all SID departures, 1,344 movements), followed by NAMAS (18%), AGDAM (16%), and EKRAM (15%). For arrivals (STARs), ERLEV and ROPKA were the two main entry points, jointly accounting for 63% of all arrivals.
Capacity utilisation
The peak hour at Baku FIR in March 2026 was 00:00–01:00 local with 94 aircraft, followed by 01:00–02:00 (83 ACFT). The all-time monthly high was 105 aircraft per hour, recorded on 26 and 29 March between midnight and 01:00. Daytime traffic peaks much lower (the 12:00–13:00 hour averaged 47 ACFT) — Baku’s airspace is genuinely a 24-hour operation, with most of its peak load occurring around midnight as the trans-Caspian and Europe–Asia flows converge.
What this means for travellers
- GYD continues steady growth (+2.2% in March, +5.3% YTD) — passenger experience and wait times should remain stable
- The single-runway operation in March may have caused minor delays — by April, both runways should be back to normal
- Late-night arrivals can be busy at the airport — expect immigration queues around midnight on peak days
- Cargo growth is significant (22% of all movements) — Silk Way West, Cargolux, and Atlas Air are running heavy schedules
- Low-cost share is increasing — bargain fares from the Gulf and Türkiye are likely to keep pricing competitive on key routes
Sources
- ASEC (Airspace Supervision & Efficiency Center) — Air Traffic Statistics Report, March 2026
- AzerAeronavigation
- Original report: asec.az (PDF, 20 pages)
