Several airlines have announced the suspension of flights to certain cities in Russia following the crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane in Aktau.
Azerbaijan Airlines (AZAL) will temporarily halt flights from Baku to the airports of Sochi, Mineralnye Vody, Volgograd, Ufa, Samara, Nizhny Novgorod, Vladikavkaz, and Saratov starting December 28. Prior to this, the carrier had already stopped flights to Grozny and Makhachkala.
The Kazakh airline Qazaq Air has reported a "forced temporary suspension of flights" on the Astana – Yekaterinburg route from December 28 until January 27, 2025.
“The suspension of flights has been implemented to ensure the safety of passengers and crew members based on an ongoing risk assessment of flights to Russia,” the statement reads.
The carrier will continue operating flights to Omsk and Novosibirsk. The resumption of flights to Yekaterinburg will be determined after a re-evaluation of risks. Passengers affected by the canceled flights have been promised a full refund for their tickets and offered free rebooking on alternative Qazaq Air flights.
Additionally, the Israeli airline El Al has announced the suspension of all flights from Tel Aviv to Moscow, "citing events in the airspace of Russia." The carrier plans to conduct a re-evaluation of the situation regarding the resumption of flights next week.
In a statement to Spot, Uzbekistan Airways reported that all flights to Russian cities are currently operating according to schedule, including to Makhachkala and Grozny.
On December 25, an Embraer 190 AZAL aircraft, en route from Baku to Grozny, crashed near Aktau airport, resulting in numerous casualties. Azerbaijan's Minister of Transport Rashad Nabiyev stated that the plane had experienced "external interference." One theory regarding the cause of the crash suggested a Russian missile may have been involved.
Earlier, Spot reported that Air Arabia is launching direct flights from Tashkent to Ras Al Khaimah.