US and Azerbaijan sign open skies deal

The US and Azerbaijan have signed an open skies agreement in Baku, capital city of the southwest Asian country.
Jahangir Asgarov, president of the Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL), and Robert Cekuta, the US ambassador in Baku, signed the open skies agreement on April 6 for the liberalisation of air transport market between the two countries.
Baku-based freighter operator Silk Way West, with a fleet of two Boeing 747-400Fs and three Boeing 747-8Fs, said on its website: "The bilateral agreement will simplify the process of organising flights between the US and Azerbaijan, and contribute to the increase in the number of commercial flights."
Silk Way West Airlines has been operating the Baku-New York regular flights once a week since May, 2015.
In March this year, Malpensa airport-based Silk Way Italia, part of the Silk Way Group, applied for a foreign air carrier permit to offer scheduled and on-demand cargo charters by B747-400Fs out of Italy and intermediate points to the US and beyond.