The airport consists of two buildings that are approximately 200 metres apart. The terminals are not connected by an internal corridor, but pedestrian access to the outside public area is possible via a marked walkway.
The terminals are divided according to the airlines that serve them.
A clear map of the airport is available on the official website: airport.az/en/map.
Terminal 1
Terminal 1 dates back to 2014 and is an extraordinary architectural masterpiece. The concourse is unnaturally huge for an airport with various design elements inside. It's airy and with plenty of seating, orientation is very easy for passengers arriving or departing, as well as those just transferring.
Terminal 1 handles flights of the following airlines:
- Aeroflot
- Air Arabia
- Air Astana
- Air Baltic
- AJet
- Azerbaijan Airlines (domestic flights and flights to Georgia and some Turkish destinations are handled from Terminal 2)
- Azimuth
- Belavia
- China Southern Airlines
- Flydubai
- FlyArystan
- FlyNas
- Gulf Air
- Iraero
- Iran Air
- Jazeera Airways
- Kuwait Airways
- LOT
- Lufthansa
- Pegasus Airlines
- Pakistan International Airlines
- Qatar Airways
- Qazaq Air
- Redwings
- Rossiya
- Turkish Airlines
- UTair
- Uzbekistan Airways
Terminal 2
Terminal 2 is a separate building about 200 metres from Terminal 1. To transfer between them, you must collect your luggage and go through passport and customs control.
This terminal is older and has considerably less space, but there are few flights from this terminal, so there is plenty of seating here as well.
Terminal 2 is used by the following airlines:
- Azerbaijan Airlines (domestic flights and flights to Georgia + some Turkish destinations)
- Israir
- Wizz Air
Transfer between flights
Azerbaijan Airlines' extensive network makes Baku a relatively important connecting point in the Transcaucasus and Central Asia.
A transfer within the transit zone only is possible if you have purchased your ticket on one booking (guaranteed transfer).
In this case, your luggage will be automatically transferred and you do not have to worry about it at all in Baku.
You do not have to leave the transit zone even if you have combined your transfer from two tickets, you are travelling with hand luggage only and you already have a boarding pass for the connecting flight.
Transfer procedures
When you exit the aircraft, look for the "Transfer Area" sign which will direct you to the ticket counters to have your boarding pass validated.
You will then go through the security checkpoint reserved for transfer passengers directly to the departure gate area.
Due to the relatively small size of the terminal, the net transfer time tends to be between 30 and 45 minutes.
There is no passport control during the transfer process.
Transfer between terminals
If you have to transfer between Terminals 1 and 2 as part of an international transfer, you do not need to leave the transit zone or arrange a visa for Azerbaijan.
A free shuttle bus runs on the tarmac (i.e. within the transit zone - airside).
After you get off the plane, you must contact the staff at the information desk, as the bus is only available on request (it is available 24/7).
I have a single ticketed flight from TBS to DEL with a flight change in GYD. My luggage is checked through. I however do not know how I transit from my inbound flight landing at T2 to my outbound flight at T1. As an Australian citizen I require a visa to enter Azerbaijan. I have contacted my Airline (Azerbaijan Airways) they can NOT tell me. I rang and emailed GYD airport, they can NOT tell me. I have emailed Azerbaijan immigration department, if they can not tell me, I'll give up and get a refund and fly via Riyadh.
I've edited the text. There is a shuttle bus between terminals 1 and 2, so you will not be leaving the transit zone, so no visa is needed.
Thank you very much
This is up to date information?
AZAL hinted at this on their website, but it was written in 2019.
Amazing that GYD staff and AZAL staff could not give me this information.
State secrets, I guess. 🤣 I would take it in this case not as a mistake, but as a "cultural enrichment". I mined the Azeri Railways information at the time - to no avail.