Turkish president departs for Azerbaijan to attend Lachin International Airport inauguration

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, has departed for Azerbaijan to participate in a landmark event symbolizing regional cooperation and post-conflict reconstruction.

The inauguration ceremony of the newly constructed Lachin International Airport is scheduled to take place today in Azerbaijan’s Lachin district, a region that was liberated during the Second Karabakh War, Caliber.Az reports.

The ceremony will be attended by Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, marking a rare trilateral gathering of leaders from three closely allied nations.

Lachin International Airport is the third major airport constructed by Azerbaijan in its liberated territories, following the openings of Fuzuli and Zangilan airports.

It is also the country’s highest-altitude airport, situated at 1,800 metres above sea level—a location that required extensive engineering work under challenging mountainous conditions.

Construction of the airport began in 2021. It is located 30 kilometres from Lachin city centre, 60 kilometres from Kalbajar, and 70 kilometres from Shusha. The runway is 3,000 metres long and 60 metres wide, and the terminal has a capacity to process 200 passengers per hour.

On May 26 of this year, Azerbaijani Prime Minister Ali Asadov signed a resolution granting the facility international airport status. The information was subsequently submitted to international aviation bodies, bringing the total number of international airports in Azerbaijan to nine.

The Lachin airport is expected to become a key driver of regional development.

Notably, Presidents Aliyev and Erdoğan previously inaugurated two other international airports in the liberated territories: Fuzuli International Airport in October 2021 and Zangilan International Airport in October 2022.

By Vafa Guliyeva