“The civil aviation and tourism sectors are going through a very difficult period due to the coronavirus pandemic and the closure of borders between the countries,” Asgarov said. "Since March 15 up till now, AZAL and its partners have carried out 239 international flights, through which more than 23,000 of our compatriots were brought to Azerbaijan.”

“AZAL continues to operate charter flights to evacuate our compatriots to Azerbaijan in accordance with the schedule of the Operational Headquarters of the Cabinet of Ministers," AZAL president said.

“After the approval of new temporary air transportation rules during the pandemic, AZAL and some foreign airlines began to operate special international flights to the most popular destinations such as Istanbul, London, Berlin, Dubai and Minsk,” Asgarov said. “At the same time, there is a 30-percent-discount on air tickets for Azerbaijani students wishing to return to Azerbaijan via AZAL flights.”

“All airports in Azerbaijan have been closed for making regular passenger flights due to the extension of the quarantine regime and the closure of borders until August 31, 2020,” Asgarov added.

"Taking into account the wishes of travel companies, voiced recently at a video conference, AZAL will open offline sale for its direct agents in Azerbaijan through the Global Distribution System (GDS) from August 1,” AZAL president said.

“At the same time, it is necessary to understand that not only the sale of air tickets, but the sale of ready-made tour packages, as is practiced all over the world, must be the main source of income of tour operators,” AZAL president said.

“Proceeding from the experience of other countries, first of all, it will be necessary to focus on the development of domestic tourism during the post-pandemic period,” Asgarov added. “AZAL will make Azerbaijan even more accessible for foreign tourists."

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