Silk Way Airlines is a cargo airline with its head office and flight operations at Heydar Aliyev International Airport in Baku, Azerbaijan. It operates freight services linking Europe and Asia, as well as services for government and non-governmental organisations.
The company was founded in 2001 and started commercial flights on 6 October 2001. In early 2015 a deal was being finalised to acquire a further 3 Boeing 747-8 freighter aircraft. In May 2015 the airline was announced as the launch customer for the Antonov An-178 after placing an order for 10 aircraft.
As of April 2013, Silk Way Airlines offers scheduled flights to the following destinations:
AfghanistanKabul – Kabul International AirportKandahar – Kandahar International AirportAzerbaijanBaku – Heydar Aliyev International Airport HubChinaShanghai – Shanghai Pudong International AirportÜrümqi – Ürümqi Diwopu International AirportHong KongHong Kong – Hong Kong International AirportGeorgiaTbilisi – Tbilisi International AirportIranTehran - Tehran Imam Khomeini International AirportIsraelTel Aviv - Ben Gurion AirportJapanIshikawa – Komatsu AirportKazakhstanAktau – Aktau AirportAktobe – Aktobe AirportAtyrau – Atyrau AirportOral – Oral Ak Zhol AirportKyrgyzstanBishkek – Manas International AirportSingaporeSingapore – Singapore Changi AirportSouth KoreaSeoul – Incheon International AirportUnited Arab EmiratesDubai – Dubai International AirportGermanyHahn – Frankfurt-Hahn AirportItalyMilan – Malpensa AirportNetherlandsAmsterdam – Amsterdam Airport SchipholLuxembourgLuxembourg – Luxembourg Findel AirportTurkeyIstanbul – Istanbul Atatürk AirportUnited KingdomLondon – London Stansted AirportRoad freighter service (RFS) is also provided from Baku to additional destinations in Central Asia.
The Silk Way Airlines fleet consists of the following freighter aircraft (as of August 2016):
Incidents and accidents
On 7 November 2002 at 11:30 local time, Silk Way Airlines Flight 4132, which was operated using an Antonov An-12 (registered 4K-AZ21) overshot the runway upon landing at N'Djamena International Airport in Chad. The aircraft was destroyed, but the six crew members on board survived.On 6 July 2011 at 00:10 local time, a Silk Way Airlines Ilyushin Il-76 (registered 4K-AZ55) crashed into a mountain 25 kilometers short of Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, killing all of the crew of nine people on board the cargo flight from Baku, which was operating on behalf of NATO.On 19 May 2016, a Silk Way Airlines Antonov An-12 crashed during takeoff at Dwyer Airport in southern Afghanistan, killing 7 of the 9 crew members on board the cargo flight to Mary International Airport.
