Report: Netanyahu forced to cancel Azerbaijan visit because Turkey barred him from airspace

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was not forced to cancel his planned visit to Azerbaijan because of regional developments and a “tight political and security schedule,” as his office had said, but because Turkey refuses to allow the Wing of Zion state airplane to pass through its airspace, the Walla news site reports.

According to the report, the Prime Minister’s Office examined the possibility of traveling to Baku on an alternate flight route, namely over Greece and Bulgaria, but decided against doing so as the flight time would almost double.

This would not mark the first time that Turkey’s increasingly sour relations with Israel have reportedly interrupted senior officials’ travel plans.

In November 2024, President Isaac Herzog canceled his planned visit to the United Nations COP29 climate conference in Azerbaijan at the last minute, citing “security considerations” as the reason.

Reports at the time suggested, however, that the real reason for the cancellation was because Turkey had refused to allow Wing of Zion to fly through its airspace.

Direct flight routes from Israel to Azerbaijan are limited, as most require flying over Turkey, or alternatively, Syria, Iraq, and Iran.