The resumption of the full-scale military conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh has disrupted commercial airline operations over and to/from Azerbaijan, although airspace restrictions were lifted after a few hours, once a ceasefire was reached.
The Azeri authorities initially issued two NOTAMs closing four waypoints on the border with Armenia, effectively forcing all international flights heading west and north to fly via Georgia. The NOTAMs, issued early on September 20, were cancelled as of 1524L (1124Z) on the same day. Nonetheless, Flightradar24 ADS-B data shows that international airlines have continued to alter their routings to detour via Georgia.
Lufthansa (LH, Frankfurt International) announced the suspension of its services to Baku Heydar Aliev International and cancelled a flight during the night of September 19-20, 2023. The initial uncertainty related to the possibility of overflying Azerbaijan forced KLM Royal Dutch Airlines (KL, Amsterdam Schiphol) to return its flight to Tokyo Narita back to Amsterdam Schiphol and cancel three other services to the Far East. Services resumed on September 20, although the airline continues to bypass Azerbaijan entirely. The head of the Civil Aviation Organisation of Iran (CAO.IRI), Mohammed Mohammadi Bakhsh, told the state-owned IRNA news agency that flights from the country to Azerbaijan have also been cancelled until further notice.
Nagorno-Karabakh (Artsakh) is a self-proclaimed, Armenia-backed enclave in western Azerbaijan which has been de facto independent since the early 1990s. Conflicts in 2020 and 2022 led to temporary airspace closures in the region, although currently it is not covered by EASA's or FAA's conflict zone warnings.
