Several airlines suspended flights to Russia following the fatal crash of an Azerbaijani plane on Wednesday, amid growing suspicions that the plane was brought down by Russian air defenses.
Azerbaijan Airlines announced that it would suspend flights to 10 Russian cities from December 28: Mineralnye Vody, Sochi, Volgograd, Ufa, Samara, Grozny, Makhachkala, Saratov, Nizhny Novgorod and Vladikavkaz.
The airline made its decision after “taking into account the preliminary results of the crash caused by external physical and technical interference and the possible risks to flight safety.”
The civilian airliner was flying from Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan, to Grozny, in the Russian Republic of Chechnya. After passengers reported hearing an explosion, the plane was diverted hundreds of kilometers from its route and crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan, killing 38 people. There were 29 survivors.
Kazakh airline Qazaq Air also temporarily suspended flights between the capital Astana and Yekaterinburg, Russia, until January 27. Israel’s national airline El Al said it would suspend flights between Tel Aviv and Moscow for a week before reassessing them. “It’s a situation.”
Russia’s aviation watchdog said the plane diverted to Aktau after colliding with a flock of birds. However, this version has been met with skepticism because images of the shattered fuselage appear to have been pierced by shrapnel.
Several media reports, including Russian independent news outlet Meduza, Reuters and Azerbaijan Caliber, claimed the plane was damaged by a Russian anti-aircraft missile in an area where Moscow has been targeting Ukrainian drones in recent weeks.
Azerbaijani lawmaker Rasim Musabekov told local media that Russia should apologize for shooting down the civilian plane.
“The plane was shot down over Grozny, on Russian territory. And it is impossible to deny this,” Musabekov said.
“Those who did this must be held criminally responsible and compensation must be made for the loss of life and victims. If this does not happen, the relationship will of course move to another level.”
Fog and Ukrainian drones prevented the plane from landing at Grozny airport, said Dmitry Yadrov, head of Russian aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia.
“The situation around Grozny Airport at that time was very difficult, with Ukrainian combat drones attacking civilian infrastructure in Grozny and Vladikavkaz,” Yadrov said in a video statement published by state news agency TASS.
Yadrov added that the pilot suggested landing at another airport, but decided to fly to Aktau instead.
This version differs significantly from the one reported by Azerbaijan Caliber, which cited Azerbaijani officials as saying the plane was refused permission to land at three nearby Russian airports despite urgent requests and was instead ordered to fly across the Caspian Sea.
