Moscow: Following suggestions by the US and Western experts that the Azerbaijan Airlines accident this week might have been caused by a Russian anti-aircraft missile, a number of airlines have stated that flights to Russian cities will no longer operate. Moscow has refrained from commenting on rumors that its air defense system may have unintentionally shot down the aircraft. According to Russia, Ukrainian drones bombed Grozny, the Chechen capital where the airliner was scheduled to land, on that day.
Of the 67 persons on board, 38 were killed when it crashed on Wednesday close to the Kazakh city of Aktau.
The most recent airline to announce cancellations on Saturday was Turkmenistan Airlines, the flag carrier of the exclusive Central Asian republic. Without providing an explanation, it stated that “regular flights between Ashgabat-Moscow-Ashgabat were canceled from 30/12/2024 to 31/01/2025.”
The decision was made in response to flydubai, a UAE airline, suspending flights between Dubai and Mineralnye Vody and Sochi, two locations in southern Russia, between December 27 and January 3. Until the end of January, Qazaq Air of Kazakhstan will no longer operate flights to Yekaterinburg, a city in the Urals region of Russia. El Al, an Israeli airline, said earlier this week that it would be halting its flights to Moscow for a week.
On the Caspian Sea coast, close to the western Kazakh city of Aktau, the Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer 190 crashed. It was operating a flight between Grozny, Russia, and Baku, the capital of Azerbaijan.
Also Read:
Kuwait Provides Benefits to People Who Have Lost Their Citizenship
Saudi Arabia’s Digital Clinic Will Expand the Options For Treating Autism
