Azerbaijani cargo flights from Israel's Ovda Airbase to Baku have notably increased in 2024, nearing the frequency observed during the 2020 conflict.

Silk Way Airlines, Azerbaijan's cargo carrier, has a history of flights to Israel's Ovda Airbase. However, the intensified frequency of these flights in 2024 aligns with periods of heightened military activity by the Azerbaijani regime.

In March 2023, the Israeli daily Haaretz highlighted that Ovda is Israel's sole airfield for importing and exporting explosives. Azerbaijan remains a major purchaser of Israeli military equipment, with Israel serving as a key supplier since 2016.

Between 2016 and 2024, the number of Silk Way Airlines cargo flights from Israel to Azerbaijan consistently increased during times when the Aliyev regime initiated military aggressions against Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh) and/or Armenia.

In 2024, despite a relatively calm year along the Armenian-Azerbaijani contact line, cargo flights from Ovda to Azerbaijan rose again, surpassing 20 flights for the first time since 2020. Specifically, during the 2020 war, Silk Way Airlines conducted 26 flights from Israel to Azerbaijan, while in 2024, the number reached 23.

Notably, at the end of 2024, President Aliyev and his officials engaged in aggressive rhetoric and anti-Armenian statements. This coincided with a sharp increase in cargo flights from Ovda Airbase to Azerbaijan. In December 2024 alone, six such flights were recorded, whereas the maximum monthly count in the preceding 11 months was four (in July).

Monitoring of Silk Way Airlines' cargo flights from Ovda to Azerbaijan continued into the first quarter of 2025. Using data from flightradar24.com, six such flights were identified between January and March: three in January, two in February, and one in March. While these flights sometimes land in Ganja, during the first quarter of 2025, they exclusively landed in Baku.

It's important to note that only flights departing from Ovda were considered, even though Silk Way Airlines also operates return flights to Tel Aviv and Eilat.

According to Haaretz, transporting explosives via Israel's main airport, Ben Gurion in Tel Aviv, is prohibited due to its location in a densely populated area. In contrast, Ovda is situated in Israel's southern desert region, approximately 45 km north of Eilat. Built in 1980, Ovda previously served both military aviation and civilian flights, accommodating Eilat and nearby communities. However, since the opening of Eilat's new airport in 2019, Ovda has functioned exclusively as a military airfield.

Flights departing from Ovda to Azerbaijan traverse the airspace of Cyprus, Turkey, and Georgia, indicating complex and coordinated logistics. Azerbaijan's Silk Way Airlines operates Ilyushin Il-76TD cargo aircraft, with all six flights in the first quarter of 2025 conducted by the aircraft registered as 4K-AZ102.