A part of Azerbaijani Baku—Nakhchivan flights has been transferred to a new flight route through Armenian airspace, Azerbaijani media reported. It is noted that now they "cover 100 km less of the Armenian sky than before."
The Armenian media drew attention to the change in the flight path of the Azerbaijani airline AZAL from the western regions of Azerbaijan to Nakhchivan through the airspace of Armenia.
"Before the planes from Baku flew to the northern part of the conditional Armenian-Azerbaijani border, made a detour through the Gegharkunik region, flying over Lake Goycha, and were in the skies of Armenia for 130 km before arriving in NAR. Now the flights fly on a much shorter route — from Lachin district to Nakhchivan through the narrowest place of the Syunik region of Armenia, where the distance between the two Azerbaijani territories is about 20 km. The old route was used back in the years of the Karabakh War, when the districts of Azerbaijan bordering the Syunik region were occupied by Armenian troops," Vestnik Kavkaza writes.
The Civil Aviation Committee of Armenia explained that Azerbaijani flights have the right to fly on the shortest route. At the same time, some of the aircraft continue to use the old route, through the Gegharkunik region.
"The redirection of aircraft is a common and accepted practice due to a number of factors, in particular, adverse weather conditions, requests from aircraft personnel, minimum requirements for the separation of aircraft to ensure safety. Azerbaijani civil aircraft are no exception," the committee said.
It is also noted that AZAL aircraft fly to Nakhchivan through Syunik region in coordination with the Armenian authorities and they are guaranteed safety on the new route.