National flag carrier Turkish Airlines (THY) has launched direct flights between Esenboğa Airport in Ankara and Heydar Aliyev International Airport in Baku, Azerbaijan.

A cocktail party was held at Heydar Aliyev Airport Monday to mark the maiden flight of the service. Azerbaijan's Deputy Foreign Minister Nadir Hüseynov and Turkish Ambassador to Azerbaijan Erkan Özoral attended the event.

"Ties between Ankara and Baku will be further strengthened. Direct flights will bring us closer to each other," Özoral said.

Turkish Airlines, founded in 1933 with a fleet of five aircraft, currently has a fleet of 335 aircraft (passenger and cargo) and flies to 308 destinations in 124 countries – 49 domestic and 259 international. The carrier served 75.2 million passengers last year. The total number of passengers the company flew was up 10 percent year-on-year in 2018. It aimed to carry up to 74 million passengers in 2018 and the goal for this year is to carry 80 million passengers.