Israeli President Isaac Herzog travels to Azerbaijan’s capital, Baku, on a commercial Azerbaijan Airlines flight that passes through Turkish airspace, despite Turkey’s reported ban on Israeli government aircraft using its airspace. Multiple reports say the flight route circumvents Turkey’s restriction while allowing civilian airline traffic.
Turkish authorities reportedly refused permission for Herzog’s airspace use in 2024, which led to a cancellation of a visit then, and later forced him to take longer routes on official travel. For the current trip, outlets citing flight tracking data report that the aircraft departed Tel Aviv and entered Turkish airspace before arriving in Baku, with Herzog’s office declining immediate comment on the flight details.
The reports link the episode to strained relations between Turkey and Azerbaijan, amid an Azerbaijani headscarf ban in schools that reportedly comes as an additional point of friction for allied governments. A cited Turkish official also says Azerbaijan did not notify Turkey that the passenger flight carried Herzog. Turkey and Israel are described as having supported Azerbaijan in the 2020 conflict, followed by a 2021 Shusha Declaration, while commentators note the commercial jet’s name “Shusha” as potentially symbolic.
