Silk Way Airlines
| Silk Way Airlines | |
|---|---|
|
|
| IATA code : | ZP |
| ICAO code : | AZQ |
| Call sign : | SILK LINE |
| Founding: | 2001 |
| Seat: |
Baku , Azerbaijan
|
| Home airport : | Baku airport |
| IATA prefix code : | 463 |
| Fleet size: | 9 (+ 20 orders) |
| Aims: | international |
| Website: | www.silkwayairlines.com |
Silk Way Airlines is an Azerbaijani cargo airline based in Baku and based at Baku Airport .
history
Silk Way Airlines was founded in 2001 and began operating on October 6, 2001 with regular and charter flights . Since April 2009 it has been the first Azerbaijani private airline with fixed-wing aircraft to be certified according to the ISO 9001 quality standard . For some years now, customers have also included the German Armed Forces , which have Silk Way transport military goods.
At the end of 2011, Silk Way Airlines acquired a freight hall at Frankfurt-Hahn Airport .
With Silk Way West Airlines Silk Way Airlines has a subsidiary with Boeing - cargo aircraft .
Destinations
From Baku, Silk Way Airlines offers destinations in Asia and Europe , including the German airports Leipzig / Halle and Frankfurt-Hahn .
fleet
As of April 2017, the Silk Way Airlines fleet consists of nine aircraft:
| Aircraft type | number | ordered | Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
| Antonov An-12BP | 1 | inactive | |
| Antonov An-178 | 10 | appointed on May 7, 2015 | |
| Boeing 737 MAX 8 | 10 | ||
| Ilyushin Il-76TD | 6th | 3 inactive | |
| Ilyushin Il-76TD-90 | 2 | ||
| total | 9 | 20th |
Incidents
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- On May 18, 2004, an Ilyushin Il-76TD operated by Silk Way Airlines ( aircraft registration number 4K-AZ27 ) crashed shortly after taking off from Urumqi-Diwopu Airport ( Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region , China ). All seven inmates were killed.
- On July 6, 2011, an Ilyushin Il-76TD of the Silk Way Airlines (4K-AZ55) was flown during a cargo flight from Baku to Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan while approaching a mountain ( controlled flight into terrain ) and burned out. None of the nine crew members survived the accident.
- On May 18, 2016, an Antonov An-12 of the Silk Way Airlines (4K-AZ25) sped over the airfield boundary at 220 km / h when taking off from Camp Dwyer airfield in Afghanistan , because one of the engines was deliberately idling and the Machine did not take off. A fire started on impact and 7 of the 9 crew members were killed.
Arms transportation for terrorists
In June 2017, a report by the leading Bulgarian newspaper Trud , renowned for investigative journalism on crime topics , revealed how Silk Way Airlines is exploiting a loophole in international aviation and transport regulations to operate flights for gun manufacturers and private companies, mostly to Targets in terrorist enclaves in Syria, but also in other conflict zones including those in Central Asia and Africa. Under the regulation of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the transport of military equipment through civil aviation is not allowed. To get around this ban, Silk Way Airlines applied for diplomatic exemption for airplanes and cargo ( diplomatic charter flights ) through local authorities for the purpose of shipping heavy weapons, ammunition and white phosphorus to war zones around the world such as B. Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, as well as to African countries like Congo or Burkina Faso.
The published documents also include correspondence between the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Azerbaijan Embassy in Bulgaria, including attached documents on arms deals and diplomatic clearances for overflight and landing in Bulgaria and many other European countries, the USA, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Turkey and other countries. The documents reveal that US arms manufacturers have moved over a billion dollars worth of arms through Silk Way Airlines, and not only those but also subcontractors such as Purple Shovel LLC of Sterling, Virginia , which for the US Department of Defense operates ″ Culmen International LLC ″ from Alexandria , or the weapons supplier ″ Chemring Military Products ″ from Perry, Florida . When Silk Way Airlines did not have enough aircraft, the Azerbaijani Air Force jets also carried the military equipment. In their publications, the journalists uncover responsible authorities from many countries (Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Israel, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Turkey, and also the military of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, the military of Germany and Denmark in Afghanistan and that of Sweden in Iraq, as well as the US Special Operations Command ( USSOCOM ), as those "have turned a blind eye and allegedly facilitated diplomatic flights for the transport of tons of weapons carried by civilian aircraft [sic] though for military use. "
Silk Way Airlines denies the allegations on the official website with public statements and documents.
See also
Web links
- Website of the Silk Way Airlines (English)
Individual evidence
- ^ Rhein-Zeitung - Hahn is now on the Silk Road
- ↑ ch-aviation - Silk Way West Airlines (English), accessed on November 5, 2015
- ↑ silkwayairlines.com - Flight Schedule , accessed on November 5, 2015
- ↑ Silk Way Airlines , accessed April 17, 2017
- ↑ Silk Way wants to enter the passenger business , accessed on April 17, 2017
- ↑ Accident report IL-76TD 4K-AZ27 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on January 23, 2019.
- ↑ The Aviation Herald - Crash: Silk Way IL76 4K-AZ55 near Bagram on Jul 6th 2011, impacted mountain (English) accessed on January 23, 2019.
- ↑ Accident report AN-12B 4K-AZ25 , Aviation Safety Network (English), accessed on January 23, 2019.
- ↑ The Aviation Herald - Crash: Silk Way AN-12 4K-AZ25 at Camp Dwyer on May 18th 2016, engine failure , accessed on January 23, 2019.
- ↑ a b Dilyana Gaytandzhieva: 350 diplomatic flights carry weapons for terrorists , Trud , July 2, 2017
- ↑ John Herbert: Practicing Global Journalism: Exploring Reporting Issues Worldwide, Focal Press, Oxford and Woburn, MA, 2001, p. 186
- ↑ Azerbaijani Silk Way Airlines carries out 350 diplomatic flights transporting weapons for terrorists - scandalous investigation , Armenpress , 4 July 2017
- ↑ 'These documents implicate Azerbaijan in international weapons supply for terrorists' - Bulgarian journalist's exclusive interview , Armenpress , 5 July 2017
- ↑ Azerbaijan's Silk Way Airlines Accused of Transporting Weapons to War Zones , Meydan TV , 7 July 2017
- ↑ Harut Sassounian : The US and Europe Must Investigate Azerbaijani Shipments of Weapons to Terrorists , The Armenian Weekly, July 11, 2017
- ↑ Report: Saudi, UAE weapons end up with armed groups , Al Jazeera , 27 August 2017
