Carriers suspend services to Russia after the shootdown of Azerbaijan Airlines flight on Christmas Day
December 29, 2024
Following the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, many countries placed sanctions on Russia – including its airlines. Russia has limited access to its airspace In retaliation, so that only a few nations and carriers are able to operate to and from Russia.
A growing number of the airlines that can still serve Russian destinations have now suspended or reduced services to Russia after the apparent shootdown of Azerbaijan Airlines Flight J2-8243 on 25 December.
Israeli airline El Al announced on Thursday 26 December 2024 that it would suspend operations on the Tel Aviv-Moscow route for one week.
On 27 December, Emirati airline flydubai announced that it had suspended those flights between Dubai and the Russian cities of Sochi and Mineralnye Vody that were scheduled between December 27 and January 3, citing what it called ‘technical reasons’.
Azerbaijan Airlines announced on 28 December that it would suspend all flights to Mineralnye Vody, Sochi, Volgograd, Ufa, Samara, Grozny, Makhachkala, Saratov, Nizhny Novgorod, and Vladikavkaz.
The airline reportedly took its 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.”
Azerbaijan’s regulators also stopped flights between the same Russian cities and Baku and Ganja by other nation’s airlines, affecting services by Azimuth, IrAero, UTAir and Ural Airlines.
Kazakh airline Qazaq Air also temporarily suspended flights between Astana (Zazakhstan’s capital) and Yekaterinburg in Russia from 28 December until January 27.
Turkmenistan Airlines is suspending regular flights between Ashgabat and Moscow effective from Monday 30 December 2024 to 31 January 2025. No explanation was offered.
