Azerbaijan Airlines

Azerbaijan Airlines, known in short as AZAL, is the designated flag carrier and largest airline of Azerbaijan, based in Baku next to Heydar Aliyev International Airport. It flies to destinations across Asia, the Commonwealth of Independent States and Europe. AZAL was founded on 7 April 1992 as the first national airline established after Azerbaijan's independence. The state owned company was privatized in the 2000s, and ownership of its assets ended up held by companies belonging to family members of the country's political elite, including President Ilham Aliyev's daughter Arzu Aliyeva.