How did Herzog get around Türkiye's airspace ban? Response came from Azerbaijan

Israeli President Isaac Herzog's visit to Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, to attend the 7th Summit of the Conference on Cooperation and Confidence Building Measures in Asia (CICA) created controversy in Türkiye.

According to the news published by the UK-based Middle East Eye (MEE) on October 15, Herzog traveled on a scheduled flight of Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) in order to circumvent Türkiye's practice that prohibits Israeli government planes from using its airspace.

In its news published on October 16, the Azerbaijan-based APA news agency stated that no special flight was organized for Herzog and argued that the criticism in Türkiye was unfounded.

According to Middle East Eye's news, based on Flightradar24 data, Herzog went from Tel Aviv to Baku on AZAL's flight J222 on October 14.

The Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner type aircraft, which took off from Tel Aviv at 11.35 local time, reached Baku at 15.40 using Turkish airspace.

The aircraft type and arrival time in the images released from Herzog's welcome ceremony in Baku also matched the flight records. The Israeli Presidential Spokesperson's Office did not answer MEE's questions regarding the details of the flight.

A Turkish official who spoke to the news and was informed about the issue said that Azerbaijan did not inform Ankara that Herzog was on the plane in question. The official stated that the Israeli government no longer applies for the use of airspace because it knows Türkiye's attitude.

Pointing out that Türkiye cannot provide the passenger list of every commercial plane that transits, the official stated that the application is aimed at Israeli state planes. According to MEE, Herzog's planned visit to Azerbaijan in 2024 was canceled because his plane was not allowed to use Turkish airspace.

It was reported that the Israeli President used an alternative route of approximately eight hours to avoid Turkish airspace during his visit to Kazakhstan in April 2026.

Azerbaijan-based APA news agency approached the debate from a different angle. According to the information obtained by the agency, Herzog, along with his assistant and a small delegation, purchased tickets for a scheduled flight operating on the Baku–Tel Aviv–Baku line.

APA emphasized that no private plane was allocated to the Israeli President and no unusual flights were organized within the scope of the visit. The news claimed that some circles in Türkiye manipulated the issue in order to produce criticism against Azerbaijan.

Pointing out that companies such as Turkish Airlines, Pegasus and AJet also carry passengers from different countries on international routes, the agency argued that it is not right to target Azerbaijan through the passengers of a scheduled flight.

Middle East Eye and APA's reports agree that Herzog went to Baku on a scheduled Azerbaijan Airlines flight. However, the two publications differ on the political meaning of the journey.

While Middle East Eye highlights that Herzog chose this method to overcome the impact of Türkiye's airspace ban on Israeli state planes, APA argues that the visit was an ordinary commercial trip and Azerbaijan did not provide any special facilities.