A number of airline firms suspended flights to Russia following the lethal crash of an Azerbaijan Airways airplane Wednesday, as suspicions develop that the plane was introduced down by Russian air defenses.
Azerbaijan Airways introduced it is going to droop 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 choice after “taking into consideration preliminary outcomes into the crash … which was brought on by bodily and technical exterior interference, and the dangers which will come up in flight security.”
The civilian airliner was flying from the Azerbaijani capital Baku to Grozny in Russia’s Chechen Republic. After passengers reported listening to a blast, it diverted a whole bunch of kilometers from its route and crashed close to town of Aktau in Kazakhstan, killing 38. There have been 29 survivors.
The Kazakh air service Qazaq Air additionally briefly suspended flights between the nation’s capital Astana and Yekaterinburg in Russia till January 27. And the Israeli nationwide airline El Al stated it will droop flights between Tel Aviv and Moscow for every week, after which it will “reassess the scenario.”
Russia’s aviation watchdog has stated that the airliner was redirected to Aktau after it struck a flock of birds. That model has drawn skepticism, nonetheless, as photos of the shattered fuselage seem to indicate it was pierced by shrapnel.
A number of media experiences, together with by Russian impartial information outlet Meduza, Reuters and Azerbaijan’s Caliber, declare the passenger jet was broken by a Russian air protection missile in an space the place Moscow has been focusing on Ukrainian drones in current weeks.
Azerbaijani MP Rasim Musabekovsaid in an interview with native media that Russia ought to apologize for downing a civilian airplane.
“The airplane was shot down on Russian territory, within the sky over Grozny. And it’s inconceivable to disclaim this,” Musabekov stated.
“Those that did this must be held criminally liable, compensation for the deaths of individuals and the victims must be paid. If this doesn’t occur, then the connection will, after all, shift to a unique stage.”
Dmitry Yadrov, head of the Russian aviation watchdog Rosaviatsia, stated that the airplane couldn’t land at Grozny airport due to fog and Ukrainian drones.
“The scenario round Grozny airport on the time was very tough, with Ukrainian fight drones attacking civilian infrastructure in Grozny and Vladikavkaz,” Yadrov stated in a video assertion printed by state information company TASS.
Yadrov added that the pilot was supplied to land at different airports, however determined to fly to Aktau as a substitute.
That model considerably differs from the one reported by Azerbaijan’s Caliber, citing Azerbaijani officers, which stated the plane was refused permission to land at three close by Russian airports regardless of submitting an emergency request, and was as a substitute ordered to fly throughout the Caspian Sea.
