Several Airlines Suspend Flights to Russian Cities Following Azerbaijan Airlines Crash

AFP | Moscow, Russia

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Several international airlines have announced the suspension of flights to Russian cities following the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane earlier this week. Western experts, along with the United States, have raised concerns that the crash may have been caused by a Russian anti-aircraft missile.

The flight, an Embraer 190 operated by Azerbaijan Airlines, was en route from Baku to Grozny, the capital of Chechnya in Russia. It crashed near the Kazakh city of Aktau on Wednesday, claiming the lives of 38 of the 67 people on board. The aircraft was intended to land in Grozny, a city reportedly under attack by Ukrainian drones on the same day, as per Russian statements. Moscow has refused to comment on allegations that the plane may have been accidentally downed by its air defence system.

In the wake of the crash, several airlines have suspended their services to Russia. Turkmenistan Airlines, the national carrier of the Central Asian nation, became the latest to announce cancellations. The airline stated that its regular flights between Ashgabat and Moscow would be suspended from December 30, 2024, to January 31, 2025, without offering a specific explanation for the move.

The suspension follows earlier cancellations by other carriers. UAE airline flydubai halted its flights to Russia’s southern cities of Mineralnye Vody and Sochi, initially planned between December 27 and January 3. Kazakhstan’s Qazaq Air has also suspended its flights to the Russian city of Yekaterinburg until the end of January. Additionally, Israeli airline El Al announced a week-long suspension of flights to Moscow.

The crash of the Azerbaijan Airlines flight has drawn significant attention. Azerbaijan’s transport minister has suggested that preliminary findings from the investigation point to "external interference" as a likely cause of the disaster. While the country has not explicitly named Russia, the wording of the statements suggests that Baku believes the plane was hit by a missile mid-flight.

As investigations continue, the global aviation community watches closely, with many raising questions about the safety of air travel in conflict zones. The crash marks yet another tragic incident amid the ongoing tensions between Russia and Ukraine, with the incident drawing the attention of authorities and international observers.