The first direct flight from Azerbaijan received a warm welcome on early Friday with a grand salute from water cannons at Karachi’s Jinnah International Airport.
The flight from Baku arrived at the Jinnah International Airport on April 19, 2024, presenting a significant milestone in aviation connections between Baku and Karachi.
The flight crew and around 90 passengers were welcomed by Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori, Industries Minister Ikramullah Dharejo, Trade Development Authority of Pakistan’s chief executive Zubair Motiwala, Karachi Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Iftikhar Ahmed and officials of the Foreign Office.
Governor Tessori called it a historic achievement and said that the direct link between Baku and Karachi would boost trade, tourism and bilateral relations. He hoped that air connectivity with the biggest city of the country would help bolster the trade relation between the brotherly countries.
“Karachi is not only the economic and financial hub of Pakistan but it is the gateway to a number of tourist places,” he said and hoped that it would help strengthen people-to-people contacts as well as tourism in both the country.
Ambassador of Azerbaijan Khazar Farhadov was also present at the airport to greet the inaugural flight. Azerbaijan Ambassador said that direct flights would open new avenues for bringing people of both the countries closer. “We are historically very close and leadership of both the countries had taken significant steps to develop a mechanism for bringing people of both the countries closer,” he said.
Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) is already operating direct flights to Islamabad and Lahore and it expanded its direct flight operation to Karachi by starting two weekly flights.