Buta Airways
Buta Airways was Azerbaijan’s low-cost airline, based in Baku at Heydar Aliyev International Airport. It was owned by Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) and served as its dedicated low-cost subsidiary. The airline started operations on September 1, 2017, replacing AZALJet and operated with its own fleet, staff, and tariff policy. Its livery features the mythological Simurg bird in Azerbaijani ornament, with blue representing ties to AZAL and red symbolizing Azerbaijan’s flag. Buta offered a minimum one-way fare from about 29 euros and free onboard sandwiches and water, with paid options for baggage, meals and seat selection.
Buta flew Embraer jets and grew to a fleet of eight, serving 18 destinations in seven countries from its hub in Baku. Its first European route was Sofia in January 2018. By 2019, the network included Batumi, Ufa and Odesa among others. In February 2022, flights to Russia were suspended for safety reasons, but services resumed in June 2022. In 2023 it restarted several Russia routes, including Astrakhan, Mineralnye Vody, Kazan, Ufa and Moscow, and added Volgograd in January 2023.
On July 28, 2023, it was announced that Buta Airways would merge with Azerbaijan Airlines under a single AZAL brand, and from October 2023 the combined operation used the AZAL name, ending Buta Airways as a separate airline.
This page was last edited on 3 February 2026, at 00:34 (CET).