The airline Azerbaijan Airlines announced on Friday December 27 that it was suspending its flights to seven Russian cities, particularly in the Caucasus, after the crash in Kazakhstan of its plane which was flying from Baku to the Russian Caucasian republic of Chechnya.
This decision was made “taking into account the preliminary results of the investigation into the Embraer 190 crash”which left 38 dead, and “risks to flight safety”explained Azerbaijan Airlines in a press release.
Flights are suspended to Caucasus airports: Mineralnye Vody, Grozny, Sochi and Makhachkala, as well as to Volgograd, Ufa and Samara, according to the same source.
The airline will, however, continue to operate its flights to Moscow, Saint Petersburg (northwest), Ekaterinburg (Urals), Astrakhan (south), Kazan (Volga) and Novosibirsk (Siberia), the press release underlines.
The investigation continues
The investigation to determine the causes of this tragedy, which caused the death of 38 people, continues. Many articles blame a Russian air defense missile. The Kremlin said it would not comment until the investigation is complete.
Russia’s civil aviation agency Rosaviatsia said Ukrainian drones attacked Grozny, the capital of the Russian republic of Chechnya, on the day the Azerbaijan Airlines plane crashed, which twice attempted to landing there without success. Ukraine, for its part, claims that Russia “must be held responsible” drama.