ECONOMY
Ambassador Morningstar believes direct flights from Azerbaijan to U.S. will be launched by end of year
Baku, April 1 (AZERTAC). U.S. Ambassador to Azerbaijan Richard Morningstar has expressed confidence that direct flights to the United States will be launched by the end of 2014.
“I do hope that direct air flights to the United States will become possible by the end of the year. We are looking forward to the launch of AZAL`s flights to the United States,” said Morningstar as he visited Azerbaijan Airlines, AZAL.
AZAL and its plans to launch services to New York JFK later this year received a shot in the arm last week when the US Federal Aviation Administration conferred the country with a Category 1 safety and security rating.
Morningstar met president of AZAL Jahangir Asgarov, who praised US Federal Aviation Administration`s giving Category 1 rating to the company as a logical result of what had been done to develop aviation in Azerbaijan.
“This is a result of President Ilham Aliyev`s attention to the national aviation. And this will contribute to expanding relations between our countries,” said Asgarov.
Ambassador Morningstar said the launch of direct flights to the United States was a signal of successful cooperation between the two countries in the field of aviation.
Category 1 status means the State Civil Aviation Administration of Azerbaijan complies with ICAO standards allowing the country's air carriers to codeshare with US carriers as well as use their own metal on flights to the US.
"The Category 1 rating is based on an October 2013 FAA review of State Civil Aviation Authority of the Republic of Azerbaijan (SCAA), subsequent meetings, and an FAA visit to the Republic of Azerbaijan last month," the FAA said in a statement last week.
AZAL applied to the US Department of Transportation for permission to serve New York this winter using its A340-500s.