Azerbaijan Lifts Air Travel Restrictions for Citizens of 12 More Countries

The government of Azerbaijan has lifted air travel restrictions for citizens of 12 more countries starting from September 6. 

Citizens of China, Estonia, Finland, France, Hong Kong (special administrative region of China), Croatia, Iceland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and Japan will be allowed entry, Interfax Azerbaijan reported, quoting the country’s authorities.

The decision was made considering the ongoing vaccination of the population in these countries and the satisfactory situation with the novel coronavirus pandemic.

However, air travelers from these countries should adhere to the COVID-19 measures set by Azerbaijan’s government. Passengers aged 18 and above must have the negative PCR test result done 72 hours before departure and either a vaccination certificate or recovery proof. Those aged under 18 must submit only a negative PCR test result. 

Azerbaijan grounded international commercial flights last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, Azerbaijan’s international airports saw a significant decrease in passenger traffic. The airports handled passenger traffic of 1.2 million, 77.7 percent less than in 2019.

The country has so far lifted air travel restrictions for citizens of 41 countries.

In June, Azerbaijan made a relevant decision regarding citizens of Russia, Turkey, the USA, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Great Britain, Israel, Hungary, and Qatar. In August, the country lifted air travel restrictions for citizens of Germany, Czech Republic, Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Ireland, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Canada, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Serbia, Singapore, Portugal, Slovenia, Slovakia, and Greece.

Meanwhile, the Azerbaijan Tourism Bureau has launched cooperation with global online platforms to attract more tourists. The Bureau is now partnering with Expedia Group, an American online travel shopping company that owns travel fare aggregators and metasearch engines, including Expedia.com and Hotels.com. The websites will place detailed information on flights, hotels, and tours to Azerbaijan as part of the partnership. The primary target audiences are those residing in the Middle East, the UK, Turkey, Russia, and Israel.

Florian Sengstschmid, Director General at the Azerbaijan Tourism Bureau, believes such cooperation will help further promote Azerbaijan and gradually resume the Bureau’s activities in international markets.

“Along with Expedia, Azerbaijan today cooperates with such popular platforms as Skyscanner, Wego, and Aviasales,” Sengstschmid said.