About a 90-minute drive south of Baku, a major cargo airport is currently being built on a 750-hectare site. According to plans, it will cost around USD 500 million, at least in the initial phase. The centerpiece is the 4,000 x 60 m runway. If a second runway is added, should it become necessary for traffic reasons, the costs will increase accordingly. ALAT Airport, as it has been officially named so far, is scheduled to go into operation in mid-2026, after a construction period of around 2.5 years.
The initial impression is of the endless line of trucks driving onto the site of the future airport. Building materials are being brought in, along with equipment, steel pipes, and prefabricated concrete parts. The first results are visible: pylons and steel girders rise from the gray-yellow ground – unmistakable structural evidence of the future warehouse. It will be managed by Dubai-based ground handler, dnata, as was contractually agreed last week between the operating company and the agent.
Launching date: less than a year ahead
The outlines of the air traffic control center and the future fire station building are already clearly visible. The floor slab and foundation for the future tower have been poured. Work ends at 6 p.m. and begins again early the next morning. Equipment supplier, Loedige Industries, secured a major contract. The German company was commissioned by Silk Way to supply the entire system, including the software, to ensure the operation of warehouses, automated guided vehicles, and other driverless transport systems. Installation of the systems is scheduled to begin early March 2026. This should also apply to the countless stackers that are stored a little further away and will ensure the fast throughput of e-commerce shipments in its dedicated warehouse.
Benefitting from Leipzig equipment
The equipment originates from Leipzig, where Amazon no longer required it after removing the Saxon airport from its flight schedule. Its relocation from Leipzig to Baku was certainly a bargain for the Silk Way Group. The racking system will be installed in a 20,000 m² warehouse, specifically dedicated to e-commerce sorting and throughput. Globally, this segment will continue to grow strongly and is likely to exceed the 5-million-ton mark worldwide in 2025, speakers and panelists at the Caspian Air Cargo Summit agreed. However, the flows are beginning to shift noticeably, with volumes declining to the U.S., contrasting strong growth on routes between China and Europe as well as within the APAC region. Marco Bloemen, head of aviation and logistics strategy consulting firm, Aevean, predicted that these trends will not only continue but accelerate.
Silk Way West Airlines will become the main user of the ALAT airport. Once it is operational, its fleet will be relocated from the current Heydar Aliyev International Airport to the new ALAT hub.
AZAL is spreading its wings
This move will benefit the national airline, Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL), which is growing rapidly to support tourism and improve the country’s transport accessibility. Its strategy focuses on network expansions enabled by a growing fleet of passenger aircraft. Once Silk Way West moves to ALAT, the country will have two civil aviation hubs at its disposal.
According to Wolfgang Meier, President and CEO of Silk Way West Airlines, ALAT Airport and the surrounding Free Economic Zone, located on the shores of the Caspian Sea, will become a multi-modal hub for air, land, and sea transport, and a freight gateway for the entire greater region. At the same time, the manager emphasized that environmental criteria were a high priority in the project. “We are building a green airport with solar panels on the roof of the facilities, providing power to run the e-vehicles used for ground processes.” He also confirmed that his airline would receive ten additional freighters by 2032, including four A350F alongside Boeing Triple Sevens. “We go for production freighters, not conversions, due to their higher efficiency, lower operational costs and fewer greenhouse gas emissions compared to P2F aircraft. During the last couple of years, we have seen a market trend in favor of production freighters,” Meier concluded.
Strongest cargo airline in the CIS region
Silk Way West Airlines currently serves over 40 destinations in the Middle East, India, Asia, Europe, and North America. In addition, it offers customers charter flights. In 2024, more than 500,000 tons of air cargo passed through the Baku hub.
Zaur Akhundov, the Founder and President of the Silk Way Group, and Chairman of the Supervisory Board at Silk Way Airlines, lauded that Silk Way West Airlines, with its young and highly efficient fleet, has become the strongest cargo airline in the Central Asian region.
The airline’s business model is similar to that of the former AirBridge Cargo: flying cargo from China to Europe, with a stopover halfway – in this case in Baku. According to the airline, 95% of shipments on the east-west route are transit goods. Conversely, this means that the local Azerbaijani market plays only a minor role in the Silk Way West network. At least until today.
