Azerbaijan Airlines (Azerbaijani: Azərbaycan Hava Yolları), also known as AZAL, is the flag carrier and largest airline of Azerbaijan. Based in Baku, adjacent to Heydar Aliyev International Airport, the carrier operates to destinations across Asia, the CIS, Europe and the USA. Azerbaijan Airlines is a member of the International Air Transport Association.

On 20 October 1910, a plane flew over Baku for the first time. After this introduction of aviation to Azerbaijan, it took only 13 years for the new mode of transportation to acquire an official status in the region: the Caucasus Joint Stock Company of Civil Aviation - ZAKAVIA - was established in 1923. It was founded by Mughan Melioration Construction, the Caspian Shipping Company, and AzNeft (Azerbaijan Oil Company). ZAKAVIA planes were intended to conduct aerial surveys, deliver emergency goods, and carry mail.

In 1926, regular flights began on the Mineralnye Vody–Grozny–Makhachkala–Baku–Yevlakh–Tbilisi route. Airports were opened in Baku, Yevlakh, and Shaki, where Dornier Komet III and Dornier Merkur planes were based. The successful completion of a flight largely depended on the skill of the pilots, as the aircraft had no navigation equipment at the time. Pilots used roads, railway lines, local terrain and other features as landmarks. Despite the imperfections, the international air-route Kharkiv-Baku-Bandar-e Pahlavi was opened in 1929, while in 1933, the first flight to Moscow over the Caucasus ridge was carried out, shortening the distance of the route by 1100 km. A regular air route between Baku and Moscow was opened in 1937; it was operated by local aircraft Kharkov KhAI-1 and Putilov Stal-3, which carried 15 passengers a day.

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