Ganja International Airport

"KVD" redirects here. For Kat Von D and her brands, see Kat Von D.

Ganja International Airport
Gəncə Beynəlxalq Hava Limanı
Summary
Airport typePublic / Military[citation needed]
OwnerGovernment of Azerbaijan
OperatorAzerbaijan Airlines
ServesGanja
LocationGanja, Azerbaijan
Opened1951
Elevation AMSL1,083 ft / 330 m
Coordinates40°44′16″N 046°19′03″E / 40.73778°N 46.31750°E / 40.73778; 46.31750
Map
GNJ/UBBG is located in Azerbaijan
GNJ/UBBG
GNJ/UBBG
Location of airport in Ganja, Azerbaijan
GNJ/UBBG is located in West and Central Asia
GNJ/UBBG
GNJ/UBBG
GNJ/UBBG (West and Central Asia)
GNJ/UBBG is located in Asia
GNJ/UBBG
GNJ/UBBG
GNJ/UBBG (Asia)
GNJ/UBBG is located in Europe
GNJ/UBBG
GNJ/UBBG
GNJ/UBBG (Europe)
Runways
Direction Length Surface
m ft
12L/30R 3,300 10,827 Asphalt/Concrete
12R/30L 2.490 8.169 Concrete
Statistics (2014)
Passengers329,156
Passenger change 13–14Decrease4.6%
Aircraft movements3,060
Movements change 13–14Increase0.3%
Source: ACI's 2014 World Airport Traffic Report.

Ganja International Airport (Azerbaijani: Gəncə Beynəlxalq Hava Limanı) (IATA: GNJ, ICAO: UBBG) is an airport serving Ganja[1] (also known as Gyandzha[2]), the third-largest city in Azerbaijan.

History

It was previously used by the Soviet Air Force.[citation needed] In 1996 the airport received the status of an international airport and since then is used for civil aviation purposes.[3]

During the 2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war, Arayik Harutyunyan, president of the self-proclaimed Republic of Artsakh, on 4 October 2020 stated that the Artsakh Defense Army had hit Ganja's military airport, however, Azerbaijan said no military sites were hit.[4] Reporters of Russian channel TV Rain reported that the airport had not been hit and that the airport had been closed since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Missiles hit residential buildings in the city, killing 1 person and wounding 32.[5] On September 29, the Ministry of Defence of Armenia stated that a Turkish Air Force F-16 Viper shot down an Armenian Su-25 flying inside Armenian airspace, killing the pilot—also stating that Turkish F-16 jets had taken off earlier from Ganja airport and were assisting Azerbaijani forces in missile strikes against border regions near Vardenis in the Gegharkunik Province of Armenia.[6] In response to the Armenian claim, the assistant to the President of Azerbaijan, Hikmet Hajiyev, stated that "Azerbaijan doesn't have F-16s – there aren't any on our soil or in our airspace". He claimed in turn that the aforementioned Su-25 as well as another Armenian Su-25 had crashed in the air while flying towards Azerbaijan.[7] A week later on October 7, satellite imagery was published by the New York Times Visual Investigations Team confirming the presence of two F-16 Vipers at the airport.[8] Following the publication of the satellite imagery, Azerbaijani president Ilham Aliyev conceded the official position regarding the F-16s' presence and that they had arrived in the country during military exercises prior to the war, but claimed they were not participating in combat.[9][10]

In August 2021, IATA announced a newly assigned code of “GNJ”, which will reflect the city's new name. The former code of “KVD” refers to the city's previous name, Kirovabad.[11]

Facilities

The airport resides at an elevation of 1,083 feet (330 m) above mean sea level. It has two runways designated 12L/30R with an asphalt/concrete surface measuring 3,300 by 44 metres (10,827 ft × 144 ft)[12] and non-operational 12R/30L with a concrete surface measuring 2,490 by 40 metres (8,169 ft × 131 ft). The runway designated 12R/30L has long been non-operational due to lack of maintenance and navigation equipment. Renovation and reconstruction of this concrete runway is needed due to occasional military usage of the airport.

Airlines and destinations

AirlinesDestinations
Aeroflot Moscow–Sheremetyevo
AJet Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen[13]
Azerbaijan Airlines Moscow–Vnukovo, Nakhchivan
Pegasus Airlines Istanbul–Sabiha Gökçen[14][15]
Turkish Airlines Istanbul[16]
Ural Airlines Moscow–Domodedovo[17]
Utair Moscow–Vnukovo

Statistics

Traffic by calendar year. Official ACI Statistics
Passengers Change from previous year Aircraft operations Change from previous year Cargo
(metric tons)		 Change from previous year
2012 259,451 N.D. 2,814 N.D. 917 N.D.
2013 345,055 Increase32.99% 3,052 Increase 8.46% 883 Decrease 3.71%
2014 329,156 Decrease 4.61% 3,060 Increase 0.26% 721 Decrease18.35%
Source: Airports Council International. World Airport Traffic Reports
(Years 2012,[18] 2013,[19] and 2014[20])

See also

References

  1. ^ Airport information for UBBG from DAFIF (effective October 2006)
  2. ^ Airport information for KVD at Great Circle Mapper. Source: DAFIF (effective October 2006).
  3. ^ "Gəncə Hava Limanı". Archived from the original on 25 February 2020. Retrieved 18 October 2020.
  4. ^ "Nagorno-Karabakh conflict: Major cities hit as heavy fighting continues". BBC News. 4 October 2020.
  5. ^ Телеканал Дождь. Карабах заявил об уничтожении аэропорта Гянджи. Директор аэропорта это отрицает
  6. ^ "Armenian SU-25 jet shot down by Turkish F-16 fighter". Public Radio of Armenia. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  7. ^ Vazha Tavberidze; Tim Ogden (7 October 2020). "Exclusive interview: Azerbaijan's view of the Armenian conflict | The Spectator". www.spectator.co.uk. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  8. ^ Trevithick, Joseph (7 October 2020). "Satellite Images Confirm Turkish F-16 Fighters Secretly Deployed To Azerbaijan". The War Zone.
  9. ^ "Ilham Aliyev explains arrival of Turkish F-16s in Azerbaijan". 9 October 2020.
  10. ^ Kramer, Andrew E. (29 January 2021). "Armenia and Azerbaijan: What Sparked War and Will Peace Prevail?". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 29 October 2022.
  11. ^ "Ganja Airport In Azerbaijan Secures New IATA Code". Travel Radar. 20 August 2021. Retrieved 21 August 2021.
  12. ^ charts.aero – Airport Charts for UBBG/KVD Archived 2 October 2013 at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ Liu, Jim (21 March 2025). "AJet Boosts Azerbaijan Network From June 2025". AeroRoutes. Retrieved 21 March 2025.
  14. ^ Liu, Jim (26 April 2022). "Pegasus NS22 International Network Addition Update - 24APR22". Aeroroutes.com. Retrieved 25 March 2025.
  15. ^ "İstanbul-Gence seferlerimiz satışa açılmıştır". Pegasus Airlines (in Turkish). 14 February 2022. Retrieved 16 February 2022.
  16. ^ "November 2023". OAG Flight Guide Worldwide. 25 (5). Luton, United Kingdom: OAG Aviation Worldwide Limited: 463–470. ISSN 1466-8718.
  17. ^ ""Ural Airlines" to resume Moscow to Ganja flight". Azertag. 30 January 2024. Retrieved 6 June 2024.
  18. ^ Airport Council International's 2012 World Airport Traffic Report
  19. ^ Airport Council International's 2013 World Airport Traffic Report
  20. ^ Airport Council International Archived 6 March 2016 at the Wayback Machine's 2014 World Airport Traffic Report
allikas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganja_International_Airport