El Al suspends flights from Tel Aviv to Moscow for one week after Azeri plane crash
December 27, 2024
El Al had previously suspended all of its flights to Russia from 27 October, citing “operational constraints,” but had resumed its flights, five times per week, before the loss of Azerbaijan Airlines Flight J2-8243. El Al had been one of the last Western airlines to fly to Moscow, following the sanctions imposed after Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine.
Israel’s Central Bureau of Statistics says that Israel is home to some 1.3 million Russian speakers (representing 13% of the general population) many of whom retain Russian citizenship and who have family in Russia.
The public broadcaster Kan reported that El Al’s decision was a direct result of the apparent shooting down of the Azerbaijan Airlines Embraer E190AR, but was also a result of Ukrainian drone attacks against Russian airports (including those serving the capital Moscow), which have triggered a response by Russian air defences, and it is felt that these could present a threat to civilian flights. It is important to point out that Ukraine’s drone attacks are a response to the relentless, intensifying nightly drone, missile, and bomb attacks against Ukraine in support of Russia’s barbaric and illegal invasion.
Russian airlines will continue to provide service between Israel and Russia. Red Wings Airlines operates two routes from Tel Aviv to Moscow Domodedovo and Moscow Zhukovsky and (together with Azimuth Airlines) also operates between Tel Aviv and Sochi.
