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Several airline companies suspended flights to Russia following the deadly crash of an Azerbaijan Airlines plane Wednesday, as suspicions grow that the aircraft was brought down by Russian air defenses.
Azerbaijan Airlines announced it will suspend flights to 10 Russian cities — Mineralnye Vody, Sochi, Volgograd, Ufa, Samara, Grozny, Makhachkala, Saratov, Nizhny Novgorod, and Vladikavkaz — as of December 28.
The airline made the decision after “taking into account preliminary results into the crash … which was caused by physical and technical external interference, and the risks that may arise in flight safety.”
The civilian airliner was flying from the Azerbaijani capital Baku to Grozny in Russia’s Chechen Republic. After passengers reported hearing a blast, it diverted hundreds of kilometers from its route and crashed near the city of Aktau in Kazakhstan, killing 38. There were 29 survivors.
The Kazakh air carrier Qazaq Air also temporarily suspended flights between the country’s capital Astana and Yekaterinburg in Russia until January 27. And the Israeli national airline El Al said it would suspend flights between Tel Aviv and Moscow for a week, after which it would “reassess the situation.”
Russia’s aviation watchdog has said that the airliner was redirected to Aktau after it struck a flock of birds. That version has drawn skepticism, however, as images of the shattered fuselage appear to show it was pierced by shrapnel.
Several media reports, including by Russian independent news outlet Meduza, Reuters and Azerbaijan’s Caliber, claim the passenger jet was damaged by a Russian air defense missile in an area where Moscow has been targeting Ukrainian drones in recent weeks.
Azerbaijani MP Rasim Musabekovsaid in an interview with local media that Russia should apologize for downing a civilian plane.
“The plane was shot down on Russian territory, in the sky over Grozny. And it is impossible to deny this,” Musabekov said.
“Those who did this should be held criminally liable, compensation for the deaths of people and the victims should be paid. If this does not happen, then the relationship will, of course, shift to a different level.”
Dmitry Yadrov, head of the Russian aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia, said that the plane could not land at Grozny airport because of fog and Ukrainian drones.
“The situation around Grozny airport at the 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 was offered to land at other airports, but decided to fly to Aktau instead.
That version significantly differs from the one reported by Azerbaijan’s Caliber, citing Azerbaijani officials, which said the aircraft was refused permission to land at three nearby Russian airports despite filing an emergency request, and was instead ordered to fly across the Caspian Sea.
